Bozos

This comment hacks me off Robert, did you all of a sudden forget that this the same Apple that was intentionally bricking users’ phones? The same one that pulled an about face when they staggeringly dropped the iPhone price and said ‘too bad’ until users called them on it. Apple is not intentionally bricking iPhones. … Continue reading “Bozos”

This comment hacks me off

Robert, did you all of a sudden forget that this the same Apple that was intentionally bricking users’ phones?

The same one that pulled an about face when they staggeringly dropped the iPhone price and said ‘too bad’ until users called them on it.

Apple is not intentionally bricking iPhones. When you run an unsupported hack without a full set of documentation and an update breaks it, it’s tough shit. It’s not malice unless you count Apple not bothering to test each and every hack which would, of course, be unreasonable. When you hack the firmware and operating system software then you have to expect some sort of effect. Remember that the point updates in the iPhone OS will replace the OS as expected. The only supported apps on iPhone at the moment are the ones it ships with. You can be sure when Apple releases their SDK that they’ll show us the mechanism for keeping third party apps on the iPhone. Maybe then we can stop the whining?

Likewise, putting in place a refund for early adopters is not something that is done on a Thursday night between the soaps. I don’t think Apple does anything as a reaction. Every thing is planned. Sure, they may plan some things and then later decide whether to action it.

Scoble tires of queuing for hours at the Apple Store.

Robert Scoble writes about bloggers turning on Apple: But then they brought out OSX, which was based on Unix. Overnight it seemed like my friends who were Linux geeks switched over to OSX. Now those geeks have to wait in line at Apple stores just to get machines fixed. My son today went to a … Continue reading “Scoble tires of queuing for hours at the Apple Store.”

Robert Scoble writes about bloggers turning on Apple:

But then they brought out OSX, which was based on Unix. Overnight it seemed like my friends who were Linux geeks switched over to OSX.

Now those geeks have to wait in line at Apple stores just to get machines fixed. My son today went to a Genius bar and had to wait until 8 p.m. to get help. That didn’t used to be the case.

The question is therefore why take it to an Apple Store? What about the dozens of Apple Authorised Service Providers out there, hard working independents who are being largely ignored by you and Patrick because you’d rather wait in line into the dark hours. Is is the cachet of the store itself?

[Disclaimer: I own an Apple Authorised Service Provider. And no, we don’t have any Apple Stores in the region, though one is coming.]

Ugly application != Ugly Code

ObjectMentor takes on the idea that Business Software is Messy and Ugly The developers responded to my message with enthusiasm. They want to do a good job (of course!) They just didn’t know they were authorized to do good work. They thought they had to make messes. But I told them that the only way … Continue reading “Ugly application != Ugly Code”

ObjectMentor takes on the idea that Business Software is Messy and Ugly

The developers responded to my message with enthusiasm. They want to do a good job (of course!) They just didn’t know they were authorized to do good work. They thought they had to make messes. But I told them that the only way to get things done quickly, and keep getting things done quickly, is to create the cleanest code they can, to work as well as possible, and keep the quality very high. I told them that quick-and-dirty is an oxymoron. Dirty always means slow.

I agree totally.

But this assumes a perfect world. Where you have time and money to get in a consultant to synchronise the code-quality of a dozen engineers of differing backgrounds and experience (and dare I say it, bad habits). Uncle Bob of ObjectMentor is also talking about the code. Code can be clean, well commented and refactored but it still might make business software an ugly mess because the issues I see with business software a different.

It’s not that the code is bad.

It’s that it was built by engineers for engineers. Or that it assumes too much knowledge of the business in order to operate. Or that they didn’t bother with UI testing because they had a release date to beat. The excuses are may but none of them point a finger at the code itself and say “Ewwwwwww”

Not feeling particularly profound

But I am wishing happiness on my friends. Some of you have been there for me, some supported me during my darkest times (like when I thought my kids were going to Oz with their mum) and some were just constant reminders that I may be a terrible communicator but they were still interested in … Continue reading “Not feeling particularly profound”

But I am wishing happiness on my friends. Some of you have been there for me, some supported me during my darkest times (like when I thought my kids were going to Oz with their mum) and some were just constant reminders that I may be a terrible communicator but they were still interested in hearing my thoughts.

The rest of you can go to pot. Merry Christmas!

Content Theft, alive and well. (One for the Cocoa fans)

Cool, I didn’t know you could just grab entire articles from the IntarWeb and publish them wholesale without even giving an attribution link! That’s what Rixstep has done? Scott Anguish, one of the nicest guys on the Intarweb is more than a little upset because Rixstep has repeatedly refused to remove his content which has … Continue reading “Content Theft, alive and well. (One for the Cocoa fans)”

Cool, I didn’t know you could just grab entire articles from the IntarWeb and publish them wholesale without even giving an attribution link!

That’s what Rixstep has done?

Scott Anguish, one of the nicest guys on the Intarweb is more than a little upset because Rixstep has repeatedly refused to remove his content which has been ripped of wholesale. What’s worse…

Scott writes

My copyright has been violated by his reproduction. Yes, the DMCA would allow me to get it taken down, and I am exploring that route. But given his track record, I see no way to stop him from doing this. He’s published incorrect and horrible stuff about me, Aaron Hillegass, and others, before.

It is imperative (and the reason I temporarily pulled things down) that long-time readers of Stepwise know RIX stole this.. I do not approve of his doing so. His use does not fall under fair-use, or commentary. He’s simple theft.

I’ve worked 13+ years on supporting developers by maintaining Stepwise (which truly is a labor of love) and I don’t want this theft and misrepresentation to damage that effort.

Rixstep gets traffic by stealing content, misrepresenting the opinions of the authors and doing the whole “keeping it real” thing in the face of millions of new Apple converts.

I must say it’s an interesting marketing step, calling Apple’s customers idiot fanboys while trying to flog them a replacement file manager. It really motivates me to buy it.

Scott Anguish is a pillar of the NeXTStep community. Anything that offends him and, in his own words “makes him sick” should motivate everyone interested in the Mac and especially Cocoa.

if the iPhone won’t come to the Enterprise, then…

iPhone is not available to business accounts in the US and iTunes balks at registering the iPhone to a non-residential address in the UK so it’s certainly not aimed at the Corporate Road Warrior but as I’ve blogged a lot recently, there certainly a lot of buzz about the iPhone and not just from consumers, … Continue reading “if the iPhone won’t come to the Enterprise, then…”

iPhone is not available to business accounts in the US and iTunes balks at registering the iPhone to a non-residential address in the UK so it’s certainly not aimed at the Corporate Road Warrior but as I’ve blogged a lot recently, there certainly a lot of buzz about the iPhone and not just from consumers, but from big business. SAP as previously discussed is bringing their product to the iPhone because their own people want it (and as we now know, the SAP client is being developed using a pre-release iPhone SDK here in Belfast).

Avaya, one of the big names in modern telephony, has also signed up to the iPhone and therefore lent it some serious credibility in the Enterprise.

Avaya one-X Mobile for iPhone will allow users to have access to visual voicemail, corporate directories, and VIP lists, all via an “enterprise-secure” environment, and allow the iPhone to be used for both incoming and outgoing calls while maintaining users’ office identity.

Click for the flash demo (which, of course, you can’t view on an iPhone).

Nortel, (never the visionary) hasn’t leapt onto the bandwagon for either Contivity or their IP phone products. But then they’ve been hot on air and cold on “actually doing anything other than loudly collaborating with Microsoft”.

Good oh!

Don’t tell the wife…

I got this list via Digg and though I may not agree with all of them, I do agree with some of them, for instance, I have no place in my brain for sports trivia – I’m just not wired that way. Related posts: Developing for iPhone? MWSF2008: The Good, the Bad and the Fugly … Continue reading “Don’t tell the wife…”

I got this list via Digg and though I may not agree with all of them, I do agree with some of them, for instance, I have no place in my brain for sports trivia – I’m just not wired that way.

Permission?

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” -Ayn Rand. Related posts: Ruminating on Android Engagement Putting some meat on the bones BYOD: The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. I want him in the Game until he … Continue reading “Permission?”

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”
-Ayn Rand.

iPhone is missing one thing for me

Local Storage. I don’t really want to use it to download stuff and keep it, that’s not what I’m looking for. But a way to, for instance, aggressively cache a web pages so I could, for instance, download the text of “The Importance of Being Ernest” and read it while waiting in queues etc. I … Continue reading “iPhone is missing one thing for me”

Local Storage.

I don’t really want to use it to download stuff and keep it, that’s not what I’m looking for. But a way to, for instance, aggressively cache a web pages so I could, for instance, download the text of “The Importance of Being Ernest” and read it while waiting in queues etc. I can’t do this currently and have to rely on a functional EDGE connection or emailing myself the files and reading them from my email.

Add that to my wishlist for later versions of iPhone OSX.

15/100 How I Find Time to Make Media

I honestly have no idea. I’ve made a couple of short videos in the last, say, 8 years which is an appallingly slow rate of frames per year and I feel terrible remorse for not being more active. I’ve not made a single podcast though I’ve been a guest on the Spodcast (RSS, episode #28 … Continue reading “15/100 How I Find Time to Make Media”

I honestly have no idea.

I’ve made a couple of short videos in the last, say, 8 years which is an appallingly slow rate of frames per year and I feel terrible remorse for not being more active.

I’ve not made a single podcast though I’ve been a guest on the Spodcast (RSS, episode #28 if anyone cares). Again I feel like I should be doing more.

In terms of audio/visual media I’ve really only spent time cutting together some audio clips for friends who are organising Christmas plays and splicing some ringtones for my iPhone (which is ten times easier with the latest Garageband update).

In terms of writing, I’ve been getting a lot more done and that’s because lately I have a lot to say in terms of technology/startups. My gaming writing, in comparison, has waned because I tend to switch between the two topics: technology and gaming and get a little focussed on one or the other. I enjoy the writing to the extent that I’d love to do it for a living but that’s pretty much never going to happen (the top 5% of blogs account for 50% of blogging revenue, Reference) so I’ve got to investigate other options and new challenges rather than staying in my comfort zone.

So how do I find time?

Opportunistic Sniping.

Being mobile helps. I write using my iPhone, I write using my MacBook Pro. I write when waiting for the dinner to cook. I write when my SO is watching TV. I write when waiting in the car. I write during coffee breaks at work. I write late at night when the rest of the household is asleep. I write early in the morning as the household starts to wake. If out and about I email myself reminders or set alarms with reminders about writing topics.

I pretty much don’t write on the crapper, in the shower, while driving or while engaging in the crazy monkey sex, The rest of the time I’m reading, writing, reading up for the writing or thinking about writing. One day I’ll refocus and write the Great Irish Novel. Or not.