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- More eBook trouble for Amazon
Filed under: Software, iBook, Apple
Amazon has run into more trouble with its pricing -- after Macmillan and HarperCollins, a third company has pressured the online book retailer to raise prices on their Kindle eBooks. This time it's the Hachette Book Group, and their CEO in an internal memo says that the company will switch to an "agency model" for eBook sales.
What's an agency model? Why, it's the 70%/30% split between platform and content provider currently used in the App Store, and the same model that's planned to be used in iBooks on the iPad. And it's important to note that this is exactly what Jobs said would happen -- that publishers would move away from Amazon when they had another system to go with.
What we don't yet know is where prices will end up on the iPad -- Jobs said that prices would be "the same," and it's looking more and more like the $9.99 bestseller price is going to be abandoned for $14.99 or even higher. But that's only because Amazon is fighting shadows with the iPad right now. If they can actually woo some content back to their side when the iPad actually releases, we may see prices get a little more competitive. Until then, the iPad hasn't even come out and it's already shaking up the ebook industry completely.TUAWMore eBook trouble for Amazon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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HarperCollins - E-book - Apple - Amazon.com - App Store
Переслать - Found Footage: Woz on coloring computers
Filed under: Video, Cult of Mac, Apple, Found Footage
This video of Woz talking about the "revolutionary" idea of putting color into computers is amazing. It sounds like an LSD trip -- he says he was awake for four days in a row, plunged into some sort of television screenglow madness, and somehow emerged from this zeroes-and-ones induced frenzy with a cheap way to create color screens (which we presume eventually found its way in the Apple II).
This is why Woz is really the preeminent geek for our times -- he's done some brilliant things with computers, really helped revolutionize the industry, and invented from scratch some of the most amazing things in this already amazing age, and when asked how he did it, he doesn't credit his own intellect or any personal insight. He says he stayed up for four days, and "sometimes, you're not sure if it's going to work because it didn't follow all of the methodology, all of the science that's in the books... but in this case it did." That is quintessential Woz -- way before marketing types put together the "Think Different" slogan, this guy was living it.
[via Cult of Mac]TUAWFound Footage: Woz on coloring computers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Flying Magazine blogger wants an iPad in the cockpit
Filed under: Hardware, Software, App Store
Here at TUAW, we've talked about some potential markets for the iPad; for example, the health care industry. Over at Flying Magazine's website, blogger Robert Goyer is lusting after the iPad as a tool in the cockpit.
The iPhone has become a pilot's toolkit since the App Store opened, with apps like Flight Plan - Pilot's Toolbox [iTunes Link] and CoPilot - Flight Planning [iTunes Link] making it into the cockpit for private and commercial pilots alike.
Goyer loves the idea that the iPad will have a much larger display than the iPhone and, most importantly for the quick pace of flying, that it's an instant-on device unlike many laptops. He thinks that the 3G models will be most useful for aviation since they'll provide online access to a plethora of aviation, regulatory, and weather-related data sources.
What Goyer is looking forward to the most about the iPad is that extra screen real estate. As he says in his post, he'll likely go with a netbook for situations when he's not in the cockpit. But while flying, the iPad's "brilliant display" and GPS capability should make it "supremely easy to use" for pilots needing map apps. We can't wait to see what flies into view.
[Thanks to @RyanACash for the Twitter tip]TUAWFlying Magazine blogger wants an iPad in the cockpit originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - iPad hands-on: Not a full desktop replacement, but the keyboard works
Filed under: Hardware, Bluetooth, Internet, Apple
For all of the back and forth about the iPad over the last week, only a handful of people (including Stephen Colbert) have gotten to actually touch one. Fox News, of all the outlets out there, posted a pretty clean and objective hands-on with the iPad earlier this week, and you can get a pretty good idea of what it's like to actually hold the device in your hands from them. They say that it works well -- the keyboard is about the same as an iPhone keyboard (though they don't say whether they try the hunt-and-peck of the iPhone, or actually try to lay their hands down as if on a laptop), and they agree to what we've heard elsewhere: that while the iPad is a nice computer, it's much more of an iPhone extension than a full laptop or even desktop replacement.
One of the most interesting notes is that the much-discussed camera might not be the biggest omission from Apple's tablet -- Fox says that an SD slot or a USB port is a much bigger exception, meaning that if you want to actually do anything with files (view photos or print PDFs) from the iPad, you'll have to transfer them to and from another computer first. Of course Apple is introducing an SD addon with the device, and I thought that I'd heard the Bluetooth connection would print from the iPad, but then of course you've got to have a Bluetooth-enabled printer, and as you already know if you've ever depended on Bluetooth, even then it may be a crapshoot.
Still, the device sounds about like what we all predicted a tablet would be: a MacBook Air sort of satellite extension to your household web browsing and minor computing. I still can't wait to get my hands on one -- hopefully we'll get to see a unit in person at next week's Macworld.
[via MacDailyNews]TUAWiPad hands-on: Not a full desktop replacement, but the keyboard works originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Charge your iPhone, or any two USB devices with ZAGGsparq
Filed under: Accessories
In the never ending saga of finding the best battery backup for your iPhone or iPod touch, Zagg has taken a different approach in releasing the ZAGGsparq [US $99.95]. Instead of a dongle or a snap in case, The ZAGGsparq is a big honking block, around the size of an Airport Express that contains the largest lithium polymer backup battery I've seen weighing in at 6000 mAh. For reference, the two Monoprice pieces we covered contain 2200 mAh batteries. The battery in an iPhone is 1150 mAh, so the ZAGGsparq is good for up to four iPhone/iPod touch charges. Running the numbers it seems like it should be about 5 charges, but I never said that I understood electricity.
The beauty of the piece is that it can charge two USB devices at the same time. So along with your iPhone, it's also good for your Bluetooth headset, video camera or just about any USB device that needs some juice. Four LED lights tell you how much power remains. You can also plug the ZAGGsparq into a wall, plug in two USB devices, and all three will charge at the same time. This gives you quite a bit of flexibility and helps explain the fairly high price of the unit. Currently ZAGG is sold out, but you can score one on eBay where they seem to be quite plentiful.
[via Unplggd]
Take a look at the video on the next page (click "Read More") to see it in action:
TUAWCharge your iPhone, or any two USB devices with ZAGGsparq originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dear Auntie TUAW: I've got a great idea, now what?
Filed under: Apple
Dear Auntie T.,
I have the best idea for an iPhone app, well, modestly speaking, ever! So how do I sell this great idea? Is there a forum for discussing how to get an idea sold? Any help you can offer will be appreciated.
Love and kissies and hugs,
Your nephew,
Mike (who isn't Max)
Read Auntie's answer below!
Dearest Mike,
It's pretty cold and dreary out there this winter. Are you remembering to supplement with Vitamin D? My doctor swears by the stuff -- tells everyone it's the secret to everything from better cardiovascular health to a brighter smile. Now, isn't that a nice image to keep in your head? Reason I put that shiny vision there is because the news I have for you is pretty bleak.
Unfortunately, the odds aren't good. According to Uncle Ernie, there is basically "a zero percent chance" that you can sell your idea and "make a million dollars -- or even score a free cup of coffee". The sad facts are these (and, I'm sorry, darling, but this is going to sound a little harsh): Ideas are cheap. Work is hard. And App Store is, I'm afraid, built on a lot of hard labor. If you really believe in your idea, you're going to have to work out a business plan, arrange for capital, hire and oversee artists and programmers, and market that baby to success.
Absolutely no one that I'm aware of is searching for new ideas or, more importantly, is willing to pay for them. Lots of people have ideas. Many people have way too many ideas. There is just no demand, market-wise. True, the "next, best thing" may be out there, but it's the doers, not the dreamers, that make that dream take shape.
If your idea is great -- and I have no doubt that it is -- it's yours for you to grasp. Whether you program it yourself or find a way to fund its creation, there is no road but hard work in order to bring it to its realization. I wish you the best of luck along that road and I can't wait to see it when you're ready to ship.
Take care and best wishes,
Auntie T.TUAWDear Auntie TUAW: I've got a great idea, now what? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple puts limits on location-based advertising in the App Store
Filed under: Software, Apple, iPhone
Apple's excited about mobile advertising (and it certainly seems like they're setting up a plan for local ads), but to devs, they say, "not so much." Apparently they've sent out a message that says location services should only be used to provide "beneficial information," not targeted advertising. Any apps that include ads targeted to where you and your iPhone are will be rejected posthaste, says Apple.
There's a few things going on here -- Mobile Entertainment wonders just what "beneficial information" means. Certainly apps like Foursquare and MyTown provide business information based on your iPhone's location, and Foursquare especially is working on local deals with places that you've checked-in to -- is that considered advertising?
And a few developers, including our friend Craig Hockenberry (MacNN messed up Chock's name in their post) say that Apple wants location-based ads for themselves. Kind of a jerk move by Apple, but if that's where the money is, I guess you can't blame them.TUAWApple puts limits on location-based advertising in the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Company that owns iPad trademark in EU wants Apple's businessWhile Apple appears to be the rightful owner the iPad trademark for the U.S., there's a bit of a problem in the E.U. A French-Italian company, STMicroelectronics, currently owns the rights to "iPad" in two different classifications -- "electronics and components" and "using the name in print." ST has held the trademark since September 14, 2001, but it is set to expire on September 1, 2010.
So what does ST intend to do? Possibly try to get Apple as a customer in return for trademark rights. The president and CEO of STMicroelectronics, Carlo Bozotti, is currently meeting with customers in Taipei, and when asked if the company would make some sort of deal with Apple, he replied "Our ambition is to have a great customer named Apple."
It's a possibility. The existing ST iPad (Integrated Passive and Active Devices) trademark covers chipsets for cell phone manufacturers, so Apple could theoretically use the company's products in future devices. Apple's other choices could include paying ST a license fee for rights to use the trademark, or legal action to gain rights to the name.
This isn't Apple's first run-in with trademark difficulties. The day after the iPhone was announced in 2007, Cisco sued Apple for infringing on the iPhone trademark name. The two companies eventually came to an agreement and both use the term iPhone for their products.TUAWCompany that owns iPad trademark in EU wants Apple's business originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle
Filed under: iPod Family, Freeware, iPhone, App Review
We're getting closer and closer to some of the stuff we see it science fiction literature and films. Siri [iTunes link] is a small Silicon Valley startup with a really breakthrough product that for now only works on the iPhone.
Here's the deal. You download the free app, start it up, and tell it what you want. It could be "Will it snow in Des Moines today?" or "Where can I find the nearest burger" or it could be "Find the nearest parks". It parses your comments, runs out to the web for a few seconds and comes back with a lot of suggestions. It gives you buttons to call the places you've found, or to show them on Google Maps and get you directions.
I tried to get a bit fancier saying "Make me a reservation for 2 at the nearest Olive Garden tonight at 7." The app figured out Olive Garden didn't take reservations through their service, but it provided me a number for the nearest Olive Garden and offered to map it.You can even tell the app to remind you of things, and it will send you an email at the appropriate time.
Very Cool. The tech behind this app came out of a project from the Stanford Research Institute as part of a government funded artificial intelligence project called CALO, or Cognitive Agent that Learns and Organizes.
Over time, the app will learn about what a user likes and the searches will get better and better.
As you will notice, the speech recognition of the app is very good. It comes from Nuance, and the companies software powers both Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search which are both top drawer apps for the iPhone.
The company makes money by getting a small fee from any transactions like buying movie tickets or making a reservation for dinner, but the user pays nothing.
To get started you need to register with your email address and then you're good to go. Siri recommends an iPhone 3GS, but doesn't say it won't work on older iPhones. They do say you need iPhone 3.0 or greater. Versions for older iPhones and the iPod touch are coming. The app is U.S. only.
I had a great experience using the app, and it's going on my iPhone home page. Let us know how it works for you, and especially how it works on phones other than the 3GS.
It's yet another reason why the iPhone rules. Get this app and be very impressed.TUAWSiri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Vanity Fair releases Oscar predictions app
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store
Film fans everywhere will be sitting before their TVs on March 7th to catch the Academy Awards. Now, as with so many other things, there's an app for that.
Vanity Fair Magazine has produced the free Oscars app called Vanity Fair Hollywood. Users can submit their predictions for winners, browse photo galleries, share comments and prediction results via Facebook and more. Of course, you can chat in real time during the show itself from within the app and watch trailers of the nominated films. I'm not an Oscars fan, but I often fire up Twitter when watching my beloved Red Sox because the accompanying chat makes the experience more fun.
For more iPhone fun on Oscar night, check out these apps:
- The Envelope (Free) Try and predict the winners and share results with your friends.
- Awards: Oscar Edition ($0.99) Search for winners and nominees in all categories quickly, search award histories and get up-to-date information and results.
- The Adademy Awards Bible ($2.99) lists all 850 Academy Award winners, organized by name, title, category, etc. It's quite the mobile tome for Oscar bufffs.
- Oscar Pool 2010 ($0.99) Invite your friends to bet on who will win. Create a profile, add photos and more.
TUAWVanity Fair releases Oscar predictions app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple hires two more for mobile ad sales
Filed under: Portables, Software, Freeware, Apple
In addition to their Quattro Wireless buy last month, Apple has picked up two more new employees that seems like additions to an incoming mobile advertising business. Theo Theodorou was picked up from Microsoft's mobile advertising sales department and will head sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. And Todd Tran, from mobile ad agency Joule, will serve as general manager in Europe.
Apple hasn't announced exact details of what they plan to do with all of this mobile advertising, but they did say in the conference call last week that they plan to use their Quattro Wireless acquisition to help app developers make money, especially on free apps. We don't yet know the exact specifics of that plan ("iAds," coming soon to an App Store near you?), but it looks like Apple is making a significant investment in putting mobile ads on their devices.TUAWApple hires two more for mobile ad sales originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - App Store devsugar: Browser-based previews and URL tricks
Filed under: iTS, Software, iTunes, Apple, App Store
TUAW reader Gabby tipped us off this morning that Apple has expanded its new browser-based iTunes previews to include App Store offerings. Sure enough, I pasted a standard App Store URL for Apple's Remote application into Safari and was treated to the preview shown just above.
This new preview option is just one of many App Store URL tricks you may want to take advantage of. You can find some of the most useful tricks right after the break on this post. Got another URL trick for App Store? Let us know in the comments.
Direct App Links (and creating them proactively). Right-clicking (or Control-clicking) the application icon in an iTunes App Store listing allows you to copy a URL that provides direct access to your App Store listing. A typical link looks like this:
Notice the "id" portion of the URL. That id represents a unique iTunes product number. Also notice the "us" part. That refers to the store that this was linked from.
The application id represents the same product number that appears in iTunes Connect. Knowing this number allows you to construct a valid iTunes URL, even before your application goes live. Of course, the URL will not work until Apple green lights your application, but being able to build it proactively lets you create and distribute an iTunes URL safe in the knowledge that the URL will work on product launch.
To find your application's product number, log into iTunes Connect and open Manage Your Applications. Select any application and locate the Apple ID. It's found between the Version number and the Date Submitted. Prefix that number with id and substitute it into this URL scheme:
Notice that the application name, the store country, and the mt-8 parts are not required in the URL. This, for example, is a fully working URL:http://itunes.apple.com/app/idYourApplicationIDHere.
"Artist" links. You can provide a direct link to a list of all your for-sale apps by using what iTunes calls Artist links. To retrieve yours, load any one of your applications. At the top of the iTunes page, you'll see a category hierarchy along the lines of
Right-click and copy that link. This URL brings up an artist overview, showing all the apps you currently have in App Store. Mine looks like this:App Store > [Category, like Games] > Your Company Name.
and again, you can omit the country for a more universal URL like this:
It's a useful link to keep on-hand and use in your marketing materials.
Named iTunes.com links. When your application has a fairly unique name, you can use Apple's itunes.com address scheme to offer natural-language-like access to software. For example,
provides direct access to my Ad Hoc Helper application. This does not, however, work for my super common app names. A link to
brings up a search page using "Poker" as a application name search.
A similar natural-named URL service is available from http://linktoapp.com/. You provide an application name or a set of names separated by "+" characters. The site returns a natural-language style search link. As link-to-app is a third party service, your comfort levels may vary in using it.
Links to your review page. At times you may want to link directly to an application's review page, whether from the application itself or from your website, in order to encourage positive reviews. Apple's built-in "rate on delete" policy tends to skew reviews towards unhappy customers. Providing an in-app link for users who have launched your app for, say, the third or tenth time, can help counterbalance that trend.
A review page URL looks like this, consisting of an app id, a page number for the reviews to start from, and a sort ordering. Valid orderings are 0 or 1: Most Helpful, 2: Most Favorable, 3: Most Critical, and 4: Most Recent.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewContentsUserReviews?id=284417350&pageNumber=0&sortOrdering=1&type=Purple+Software&mt=8
Just substitute your id in in place of 284417350. Notice that this does not use an id prefix before that number the way the direct app links do. To link from your application use a standard openURL: call, e.g.
[[UIApplication sharedApplication]
openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:yourApplicationReviewURL]]
Using iTunes affiliate links from applications. If you need to use affiliate links when connecting to iTunes or App Store from an application, Apple has you covered. Apple's Technical QA1629 shows you how to create an NSURLConnection that handles the affiliate redirection to create a affiliate-ready URL without using intermediate applications. That's really handy for anyone who needs to monetize their apps through commissions.
Thanks RaingroveTUAWApp Store devsugar: Browser-based previews and URL tricks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - AppFund offers VC money for iPad apps
Filed under: Software, Developer, SDK
A group of investors has teamed up to form AppFund, a company solely focused on raising money for and incubating apps for the iPad. You'll remember the somewhat similar iFund, which even got a mention in an Apple keynote a while back, and eventually offered up millions of dollars to emerging iPhone app companies like ngmoco and others. AppFund is trying to do the same thing, though they're starting out a bit smaller, promising $5000 to $500,000 to folks with interesting iPad ideas and the means to get them up and running.
They're soliciting ideas right now, so if you saw the iPad on stage and came up with a brilliant way to use it, you can send them a report and see if they bite. You'll probably need a solid business plan and/or a prototype as well, since they probably won't give you $500,000 to develop an iPad whoopie cushion that you can sneak onto a chair and make someone sit on. Or will they?
Excuse me, I have go to compose an email...TUAWAppFund offers VC money for iPad apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Sonic 4 coming to the iPhone/iPad?
Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, Rumors, Software, Apple
Sega surprised everyone last night with the reveal of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 -- apparently the newest game in the series will be a download-only episodic title coming to the Xbox and PS3 later this year. And the iPhone, too? The very end of the trailer, as you can see above, has a blank rectangle after the XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare logos, which some presume is a space for the App Store logo eventually. In addition, various graphics were found on the official site that hint at an iPhone release as well. The game, which you can see in the trailer linked above, is a colorful return to the series' 2D roots, but even the updated 3D graphics are probably enough for the latest versions of the iPhone to handle.
And of course there's the iPad -- considering that the game is called "Episode 1" (so presumably Sega is going to be releasing a few of these), Sega will probably want as big an install base as possible. Just widening the display of an iPhone app might not work so well, as these simulator screenshots on Gadget Lab show, so it's very possible that one of the launch games for Apple's tablet could be a sweet, high-resolution old school Sonic sequel. We'll keep you updated -- just watch out for the drool.TUAWSonic 4 coming to the iPhone/iPad? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - The Flash saga continues: Adobe responds to charges of "laziness"
Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Internet Tools
Kevin Lynch, CTO of Adobe, has posted the latest riposte in the ongoing fencing match between Apple and Adobe concerning the lack of Flash support in Apple's portable products, including the iPad. Apple's latest word on the subject reputedly came from Steve Jobs himself at the recent Town Hall meeting with Apple employees, where he characterized Adobe as "lazy," condemned the plugin's poor performance on the OS X platform, and predicted a future where HTML5 would supplant Flash. Presumably in response to those comments, Adobe's Lynch has argued in favor of Flash, citing the plugin's ubiquity, flexibility, and Adobe's commitment to "focus on enabling our customers to do their best work, and helping them reach people effectively and reliably around the world across operating systems, browsers, and a variety of devices."
Lynch acknowledges the rise of HTML5 video in his post, but he notes that he sees the two technologies as co-existing rather than "one replacing the other." He also claims that since no standard implementation of HTML5 video exists, widespread adoption of HTML5 in place of Flash would lead us back to the "dark ages of video on the Web with incompatibility issues." He also re-affirms Adobe's commitment to bring Flash 10.1 to mobile platforms like the Nexus One, and he claims that 10.1 provides enhanced performance across a variety of platforms. His claim is true -- our own testing showed substantial improvements in Flash 10.1's performance on OS X -- but whether those improvements are enough to enable it to run well on iPhone OS is another story.
What's most interesting about Lynch's post isn't within the main body of the post, but rather in the comments that follow. Read on to find out more.
[Via The Register]
In the comments section on Lynch's post, he makes the following statement: "I can tell you that we don't ship Flash with any known crash bugs, and if there was such a widespread problem historically Flash could not have achieved its wide use today." That's an interesting statement. Let's consider the particulars of it.
Lynch claims Flash is installed on 98% of computers on the internet. If we're being extremely generous, we could say that OS X makes up 10% of those computers, and we could say Linux runs on an additional 1%. So, out of all the computers hooked up to the internet that run Flash, 89% of them are running some flavor of Windows. If Flash runs just fine on Windows but has middling to terrible performance on other platforms (which is usually the case), it's all too easy to dismiss these problems as not being "widespread" -- even if millions of OS X and Linux users are experiencing poor performance from Flash, many millions more Windows users aren't.
Lynch himself admits that "given identical hardware, Flash Player on Windows has historically been faster than the Mac, and it is for the most part the same code running in Flash for each operating system." You know what? That's exactly the problem right there. That's where the accusations of laziness are coming from. If Flash is optimized for Windows but doesn't run well on Unix-based platforms using the same hardware, it's Adobe's job to modify its code to improve performance. It's not Apple's job, it's not Linus Torvalds's job, it's Adobe's job. Even Microsoft knows better than to expect Office for Windows to run in Mac OS X with the same code; that's why Office for Mac exists.
As for Flash's commitment to mobile platforms? The writing is already on the wall for that one: Firefox for Maemo disabled plugin support for its latest release because "the Adobe Flash plugin used on many sites degraded the performance of the browser to the point where it didn't meet our standards." Remind me again why people are bashing Apple for keeping Flash off the iPad?
Oh, yeah: Hulu. Many people are coming out in defense of Flash because they want to view videos from the site on their iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads, but until or unless Hulu moves away from Flash to HTML5 or some other solution, they're unable to do so. Mike Schuster of Minyanville summed up the anti-Apple side of the argument pretty succinctly by saying, "Effectively blocking the site comes solely at the customers' expense and directs them to Apple's pay content in the worst way possible, and it's in direct opposition of net neutrality and an open Web."
Hang on. Did he really just use the words "net neutrality" and "open Web" in the same paragraph as the word "Hulu"?
This is what an open Web looks like?
Yeah, fine, it's not Hulu's fault the site is useless to the billions of people who don't live in the US. It's the US entertainment industry's fault, with its Byzantine copyright laws and its insatiable thirst for cash. But if you're going to bash Apple over "net neutrality" like Schuster or "open access to content" like Lynch, it's pretty foolish to continue citing access to Hulu as one of your linchpin arguments. If you're really championing for an open Web, how about advocating for a site that is actually open to all?TUAWThe Flash saga continues: Adobe responds to charges of "laziness" originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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