Going Mobile...

I'm a 45 year old man, who enjoys gadgets (not just new technology, but gadgets in general). I do enjoy some old-school items, such as my watch, it's analog (I don't like digital watches), my mother explained to me one day that the nice thing about an analog watch is that you can easily see into the past and into the future, by just glancing at your wrist, it sort of stuck. My watch has gadget qualities, first it's made of titanium, so it's very light, it also has the ability for me to swap between time-zones with the push of a button (so no adjusting the analog watch and never getting the accuracy back).

But this isn't about what I think is my cool watch, it's about going mobile. I've taken the challenge (despite the fact that I like paper) to go mobile and paperless. This means loading word files, pdfs, etc... that I need to for work on my iPad, I'm using "Docs to Go" and Dropbox (a very cool and free tool) to share documents. What's great about Dropbox is that if I'm on my iPhone, Android Phone, BlackBerry or iPad I can access it (most of those devices are for development purposes only). What's a shame about Dropbox is that it seems that Apples tools don't support it (or at least they don't claim to), which is why I'm using Docs to Go (sorry Apple, you need to learn how to play better with others). I'm also playing games that I normally wouldn't play, again to see how they interact with the player, how they encourage you to play, to purchase, to build. I'm doing this so I can understand the mobile space better (you can't learn if you don't do). I also get my news and magazines via apps or Zinio (I like Zinio, I just wish they allowed you to email pages to yourself, there's no way to bookmark or print either, it's not the full magazine experience yet).

I've been asked to give a presentation at a trade show in Miami on mobile, mainly Kindle, iPhone, and Android. 15 years ago my boss went to a presentation at the National Press Club in Washington DC and was told that in order to understand the web better, meaning micro payments, subscription models, video, articles, images, etc... Go to a porn site. Well things have changed some, but not entirely, now if you want to understand micro payments, subscription models, video, articles, images, social networking, etc... you need to play games. Like the porn sites of old, don't go for the content, but go for the experience, analyze what's forcing you to come back to the game, what's making you upgrade or play, what's making you want to go social. Understanding these items will help you understand mobile apps and will keep people coming back to your apps.

Passion of the Mac

One of my coworkers came in to my office yesterday to discuss their experience at the Apple Store, it was a good experience, but they noticed that the store itself was crowded, while the Sony Style store next door was empty. That the Apple Store was open and bright and white, while the Sony Style store was dark and closed up. He was surprised at the number of people there. I explained to him that Apple has a religious following and that the Apple Stores are the churches for the faithful. There are a few Cathedrals, Paris, New York, California where people flock to, and there's Mecca (AKA 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA).

I'm surprised at how passionate Mac fans are, if you looked at my desktop you'd think I was a Mac fan also, I have a Macbook Pro, iPhone, iPad, Time Capsule, several iPods, etc... Now while I like my Apple products, I feel that there's a lot of improvement that can be made to then, they aren't as perfect as everyone thinks they are and to work in a seamless fashion, it helps to have everything in your local swimming hole being an Apple product also. For instance, using my network drives (running NTFS) to back up my Mac to, can't be done (this should just work). I've heard the religious faithful bash other products saying that they weren't as modern as OSX (well OSX is based on Unix, which is VERY old itself). The passion of the Mac keeps people from questioning the products, people just accept that the design flaws in the iPhone 4 are OK and that they need to use their phones differently. That when they hear Steve Jobs tear into Google, that Google somehow deserves it (Personally I'm no Google fan, but since they offer free products, it's hard to pass up, which is why I'm using Blogger, a Google product). They need to question Jobs, push him some, force him to deliver quality products and let him know when he doesn't (Apple will be in trouble if ANYTHING happens to Jobs).

If I had to choose between a Windows 7 or OSX laptop, which would I pick? I'd say it depends on my job function. Right now I'm in the mobile space, since Apple requires you to have a Mac to build iPhone apps, I'm sporting a Mac. If I got back into pure web development, I might go back to Windows (mainly for the added support I'd get at work, not that I need it, I've been taking computers apart for over 20 years now, so I'm pretty adept at supporting myself). Computers are put here for us, the companies deliver to us, it's up to us not to become zealots for these companies, but push them and move to other applications based on quality, not name.

Device Fragmentation

As someone who's been developing products for 20+ years now, I've grown accustomed to supporting multiple platforms. First it was the different variations of DOS, then Windows/Mac, then all the flavors of MSIE and Netscape (luckily Netscape died), then comes Firefox, the annoyance of MSIE 6.0 sticking around, etc... Well all of that was fairly easy when compared to what's going on in the mobile space. Let's limit ourselves to the big three right now (which means I'm not including Microsoft's latest device, which looks promising, but I haven't seen Microsoft develop a decent mobile OS yet), so we have RIM, Apple, and Google.

Let's start with Apple because it's the easiest to describe. With Apple we need to look at only 3G and above, in the area of hardware we have iPhone 3G, 3Gs, 4 and iPad (iPod Touch also if you want), in the realm of OS we have 3.1.3, 3.2, 4.0+ (these are all very similar, for what I'm doing I can develop for 4.0 and still support older OS levels). The development on the iPhone has been fairly simple, because the devices are all fairly similar in size. The biggest issue I see here is that in order to code, well you'll need a Mac.

Next lets look at the next platform, Android. Google has allowed Android to be installed everywhere, this is good and bad. It's good because it's placed a very good operating system on many devices, it's bad because it's put a very good operating system on MANY devices. I see a big issue with device fragmentation with Android. There isn't ONE big company stating the law (such as Apple), instead Android is getting installed on just about every device possible. In the Android beta for TweetDeck, the app was installed on 35,000 devices (this is huge) and TweetDeck recorded 244 different variances of Android (this is scary). As a developer you need to figure out what exactly do you support.... Add on to this that Google wants to push Chrome instead of Android for Tablet devices and the newly released Google TV (I have one of the devices, not sure about it yet, I know it doesn't turn off all my devices when I shut it off).

Finally let's look at BlackBerry, this is the scariest platform of all. Not only is the hardware and OS fragmented, but the backend BES is fragmented. If you are building a "SuperApp", then you may need to ensure both handset hardware/software and BES are properly supported. In the development of my first "SuperApp", I'm also finding that some of the neat tricks I'm seeing on other apps, were done using non-public RIM API calls (these are the ones that RIM holds for themselves). This is a bit unfair and is going to make it difficult to continue RIM development. Add to this the new PlayBook (which won't be available for months) and we're talking about a very difficult platform to develop for.

If I could control my development, I'd focus on iPhone and then Android, unfortunately I need to include BlackBerry also (due to my user base). Until BlackBerry grows up some, I'd avoid development on their platform.

The world vs Microsoft...

I think it's a bit funny how it's still the world against Microsoft. While I'm not a big Microsoft fan, I'm impressed how they took an opportunity and made it into a billion dollar empire. They haven't always been clean about it and they've played silly little games (such as investing in a company in Utah who then claimed rights to Linux), but they have dominated their space. Just what is their space, well it's business and operating systems, for some reason they seem to flounder when it comes to home use. People use Microsoft products at home, but that's because it's what they're used to for work. I've said it a million times (OK not quite that often, but I've said it a few times), if you take a close look at companies like Apple, Oracle and Google (three big competitors of Microsoft), you'll see that they are just as full as lies, tricks and even scarier data collection than Microsoft is. Google (who hosts this blog) is getting scarier by the day, they own the rights to most of your searches (they track everything), their business model is analytics, I'm sure if you looked at your record at Google, you'd find that they know more about you than you do.

As the Computer Turns...

If any of you follow software and hardware trends you'll realize that this is as much of a Soap Opera as "As the World Turns" (Not that I've actually seen an actual Soap Opera in it's entirety). Rumors build, ideas are stolen, people have died and then come back to life, and there's the unwanted advances that get people in trouble (Sorry Mark Hurd, but I'm sure you won't be reading this, if anyone does actually).

I've been following with interest different technologies and I have to say there's all sorts of intrigue and spying going on. In the past year Apple has been just months away from Releasing the iPhone 4 on Verizon, the latest and possibly best rumor so far has it that Apple has purchased millions of CDMA chips, CDMA is the network type that Verizon uses. Apple is also said to be close to releasing several new iPad models (which wouldn't be a bad idea, but hopefully the new models will have front facing cameras on them). There is also the rumor that the iPhone 4 in white was pulled from market in order to fix the antenna problem (boy did Apple really mess things up with that, remember kids, honesty is always the best policy... then again I'm sure dishonesty is what got people beach houses and fast cars).

Other items that I'm following is BlackBerry 6, BlackBerry is playing a huge catch-up game, they are also having an identity issue, are they an app platform or a secure messaging platform, they need to be both, but which is more important? I feel they're hoping that BlackBerry 6 will resolve this for them, though it may take a few years for older BlackBerry devices to leave the market. Most who know me realize that I'm not a big BlackBerry fan. BlackBerry Tablet? The rumor mill is churning on this one.

Android seems to be possibly the biggest winner here, mainly because they have stopped producing hardware, they only build out the OS now, the problem with this is that they have lost control of the hardware. They too are rumored to have a tablet, in theory one was released, but it was on hardware that wasn't licensed for Android and had to be pulled.

Microsoft? Yeah our favorite bad guys are still in the game, but why I don't know. Both Microsoft and Palm have blown a huge opportunity to dominate the market. I don't think either are players right now. Possibly Microsoft in the tablet market, but I feel Palm is dead.

Non-Smart Phones? Who knows... I'm not your average phone user, because I don't like phones, I like to use the browser, email, texting, apps, etc..., but I'm rarely on the Phone (unless I'm talking with my daughter or ex). I think there are many who don't like having all the bells and whistles on phones. In a way I envy them since they can disconnect easily.

OK, I've rambled, but that's what I do, what can I say, I'm a tangential kind of guy (math geek humor).

Developer Accounts...

Here I am this morning sitting in my chair, drinking my coffee and watching Warehouse 13 all the while pondering app stores... OK I know you're jealous over my exciting life, tonight, I'll figure out why the new cable box that I just got isn't working right, I might actually have to read a manual (which is a failure for those who created the box).

Any app stores, in playing with the app stores for Android (which I haven't done that much of), Apple (which I've done much more of) and BlackBerry (which scares the daylights out of me). The first two require a small purchase that can be done via any credit card, you can upload all kinds of apps, no limits, they also have decent methods for collecting money and paying it back to the user. They are also very well documented. The BlackBerry really surprised me though, it required a purchase that could only be done through a PayPal account. PayPal? Let's get real! They managed everything via DigitalRiver (which is OK, I just wish they found a better way to do it). From looking at BlackBerrys app development process, it's clearly a poorly thought out hodgepodge of technologies and processes. They are fighting to be in the app space, but their systems don't support it. As for their API much of what you want to do, can't be done before OS version 4.7.

In developing apps, I'd suggest you look at what will be around in the next 6 months and don't be afraid to tell users that they need to upgrade older equipment in order to use your app (especially if the equipment is over 2 years old).

Note that the Apple app store process is also confusing, but it's better documented both by Apple and other developers, the BlackBerry process is hidden by RIM and since there aren't many developers, it isn't well documented by the BlackBerry developers. Though don't count BlackBerry out, especially if you are developing for government or business, due to it's keyboard, messaging security, manageability, etc... it's a great business device, just because it's not a great app device doesn't mean it's not valuable.

iPhone vs BlackBerry - Security...

I wanted my first blog to be something mushy, something that says "hey I'm a nice guy, you should follow my blog", but I guess not, I'll start with something real...

I find it interesting in a time when Apple is taking on BlackBerry that what is really holding people to their BlackBerrys is, well security. Not security as in "I know where all the buttons are and how to use it", well I'm sure some would argue that, but security as in "I know all my information is safe and secure". This latter bit is important, the Android has had several security issues and is now rumored to be looking into how to make it more secure (the problem is allowing you to bypass the Google App Store, not that the use of App Stores is flawless, but it helps).

The latest iPhone issue comes on the heels of an issue with the BlackBerry. The iPhone it seems can be Jailbroken via a website (the term "Jailbreak" a phone is to allow the phone to be freed up from the constraints that Apple puts on it, this could also lead to another term called "Bricking" in which Apple turns the phone into what is essentially a glass and plastic brick, no longer good for use as a phone). Running a Jailbreak on a phone is a tradition amongst hackers and non-hackers alike, but they usually require you to connect your phone to your PC and jailbreak it there (somewhat of a trusted environment, where you run the jailbreak because you want to). The latest exploit could jailbreak your phone, without your knowledge and this could be for nefarious purposes. Hopefully Apple will come out with a fix for this soon.

On the other end of the spectrum is the BlackBerry, now while the BlackBerry may look like a brick and sometimes act like a brick, it's a very secure brick (which is why it's so popular amongst those in the Government, Law firms and other Corporations). It's so secure that Saudi Arabia is going to block the messaging application unless they are allowed to snoop, I'm guessing that BlackBerry already allows the CIA/FBI to listen in. My belief is that instead of calling this an issue, BlackBerry should wave the flag to show how good their system is, it's so secure that Governments are outlawing them, based only on this security.

Perhaps BlackBerry shouldn't go the path of the Smart Phone market, but should stay as a messaging phone. What I've seen so far of the BlackBerry app store is that it's difficult for a developer to use and register to upload their apps. It's almost impossible for a corporation to do it (there's too much red tape in a corporation to go about getting PayPal accounts, which is what is required to post in the BlackBerry app store). I could go on and on with this, but perhaps that's for another post.