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.

iPad

I'm typing this from my iPad this morning, the day after I received it via UPS. I wasn't sure it would make it to me, I was watching the shipment via the web, it got to me from China in less than 24 hours, when it got to my local facility, it appeared stuck in a warehouse, then at noon, just when I was about to give up, it showed up (according to the driver there was a miscommunication between apple and ups and the packages were all upgraded from Monday delivery to Saturday delivery at the last moment, requiring ups to bring on many extra drivers.).

So far I'm impressed with the device, some issues I'm not happy with, but it could be that I'm not familiar with the device. The first is email, the email client seems to always need to have an email open in it, I don't like this, I like to have my email open to a blank page or an email listing, but I guess I don't read email like Steve does, so I must be wrong. The other is the calendar, I have my calendar on Google, while my calendar connects to Google, it only seems to be downloading my default calendar, not all of my calendars on Google, not sure why, it works great on my iPhone.

iPhone apps work well on the iPad, but they work in a zoomed window, when you make the app larger, it appears a bit ugly (due to non-vectored images).

iPad apps are nice, the one from USA Today seems great, my mind goes wild after seeing this app. The NPR app is also very good. I've seen usability issues and crashes with all the apps I played with, I'm not sure if people really know how to exploit this type of a device given how they see people using it. Typing on the device has been tough, my fingernails are cut close! But the keep on tapping on the screen, some keys are odd, the shift key is in the wrong place and the comma must require a shift on a normal keyboard because I keep wanting to hit the shift key before hitting the comma. Netflix and ABC make this another good reason for the app, though both require wi-fi to work. I keep seeing apps crash, though after rebooting the iPad the crashes go away, I'm guessing there's a memory leak somewhere, I'm also guessing we'll see an OS update soon to fix this crashing.

Note Safari still doesn't handle web forms well on this device, sigh, this makes the iPad less of a cool tool for people who would like to blog online (to do my final editing of this blog I had to come back to my MacBook Pro).

There are VPN and RDP apps available, this could be useful for anyone in IT or anyone who has a computer controlled entertainment system, yeah that's right, the iPad could become a very cool remote control.

Should you get it? If you commute, I'd say yes, though you might want the 3G model. For business use I see a ton of applications, it could revolutionize business, especially research oriented applications, which is where I specialize. I'm dying to design and build out an app for it, hopefully I'll have that opportunity soon.