Musings from the Software Underground

Feature Requests - a Developer's Eye View

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 08:37:41 -0400

“Between the forums, emails, private messages, meeting in person, reading users’ blogs, etc., there’s a very good chance that we’ve heard your feature request before. And with developing new things, bug fixes, writing documentation, improving our support resources, assisting with elevated support issues, and so on, we’re constantly busy. Bombarded is an accurate description. So before posting a feature request, pretend that we’ve already heard it, because we probably have." +1 Read more: Feature Requests - a Developer’s Eye View

Verizon unveils iPhone rival for holiday shoppers, "will kill the iPhone"

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 07:30:00 -0400

“We think it’ll be the best phone … this year. It will kill the iPhone,” Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman said in an interview. Wow, that’s a lot of smack talk for just an image. I wasn’t able to find any additional information on this new phone at all. Still, as always, and companies like Verizon don’t get this, “it’s the software, stupid.” My prediction: this barely makes a ripple. Verizon unveils iPhone rival for holiday shoppers

How to redesign the Leopard dock so it sucks less

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 17:52:24 -0400

“It screws with developer’s expensive and painstakingly created icons by adding not one, but two awful fake shadows, a reflection and a weird shelf look which doesn’t fit in with the the actual perspective of any of the icons.”

Word. The new dock sucks in all the ways Rory lists and more and he offers an alternative.

How to redesign the Leopard dock so it sucks less

Top 11 Mobile Optimized Web Sites

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 07:53:24 -0400

11 great sites optimized for mobile phones.

Top 11 Mobile Optimized Web Sites: Technology Evangelist

How the mobile phone biz lost the plot

Thu, 24 May 2007 15:41:32 -0400

This kind of backs up my blog post from a while back If the iPhone is Real… Why Would it be Such a Big Deal?

The iPhone is a big deal because thus far, what we have available is, in general, crap.

How the mobile phone biz lost the plot

90% of consumers say Apple iPhone is better than their current mobile phone

Thu, 24 May 2007 15:39:01 -0400

Can’t come as a surprise, I mean how many people feel the same way about their phone as they do, say their iPod?

90% of consumers say Apple iPhone is better than their current mobile phone

Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

Wed, 23 May 2007 07:15:22 -0400

Ever wanted to see a definitive list? Here it is. There are some really useful shortcuts here.

Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

Popfly: Microsoft launches no-code mashup tool

Tue, 22 May 2007 08:43:56 -0400

An interesting idea, though my expectations are low. Still, who knows…? I find the idea of it being “myspace for widgets” the most interested piece of it.

“Popfly is a social network that enables you to connect with other creators. Using Popfly, you can add your favorite creators as friends and keep track of their latest projects.”

Microsoft launches no-code mashup tool

More Firefox Bloat? Say It Ain't So, Mozilla

Sun, 20 May 2007 12:39:14 -0400

Et tu, Firefox? Didn’t they learn ANYTHING from the mess that Netscape became? The slow start ups, the memory hogging, the pieces that weren’t really necessary in day to day web browsing… Apparently not.

More Firefox Bloat? Say It Ain’t So, Mozilla

Facing the full horror of Windows Vista

Mon, 14 May 2007 19:31:17 -0400

This isn’t Vista bashing from any group of “Maczealots” this is a report from a real actual Windows user who did everything they could to make a go with Vista. Their conclusion: On the whole, we wish we’d never moved.

Facing the full horror of Windows Vista

Apple "wrestles" with 3rd party iPhone apps decision

Fri, 11 May 2007 14:16:51 -0400

Apple, Pleeeeeease let us develop apps for the iPhone!

Apple “wrestles” with 3rd party iPhone apps

Say What? Flawed argument Put Forth by Recording Industry Shill

Fri, 11 May 2007 09:01:09 -0400

Simson who “is executive director of SoundExchange, which collects and distributes royalties on behalf of the recording industry.” and is hardly unbiased, argues: “In short, the CRB did what Congress asked it to do, at the behest of Webcasters. But when the CRB set what it judged to be fair and reasonable royalty rates, the Webcasters decided they were too high, cried foul and denounced the very process they had sought.” This completely misses the real issue: that small and independent streamers will get KILLED by this, leaving only the majors to provide the service. For instance: Save Internet Radio. Hardly the group that asked Congress to do ANYTHING, but the group with the greatest amount to lose.

The Internet Radio Royalty Follies

Say What? 2 Companies Move to Exthort Cash from Apple, Microsoft

Thu, 10 May 2007 20:14:15 -0400

In the “Where the hell do they come up with these idiot ideas?” department, two companies have issued cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Microsoft, among others, to stop them from selling their products because… wait for it… they “have produced billions of these products without regard for the DMCA or the rights of American Intellectual Property owners, actively avoiding the use of MRT’s technologies.”

So, let me get this straight, they are suing because in theory they COULD have used tech from these companies to control copyrights, but didn’t because damn, there is no real requirement to (hello fair use)… and these companies are looking to force them into a payday. Idiots never cease to amaze me.

Media Rights Technologies and BlueBeat.com Issue Cease and Desist to Microsoft, Apple, Adobe and Real Networks

Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops

Fri, 04 May 2007 10:30:32 -0400

OK, for me, the big question here is, whose laptops are they using? Dells or Apple’s? They don’t say. They are basing the plans on Maine’s initiative, which is generally considered a success, but Maine is using iBooks, makes me wonder if the problem is with Dell laptops…

Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops - New York Times

Net Radio Stations Applaud Congressional Bill

Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:42:24 -0400

I’m not a big fan of government interfering with business, but what was proposed by the CRB was also pro-big-media-monopoly. Congress is moving to block the new royalty rate increase, at least for now.

Net Radio Stations Applaud Congressional Bill

Apple Earnings Soar

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 19:33:29 -0400

Good news for indie Mac developers everywhere, Macs are selling like crazy:

“Apple sold 10.5 million iPods and 1.52 million Macs in the quarter ended March 31, boosted by demand for notebook computers and the low-cost iPod Shuffle. Falling prices for memory chips and screens increased the company’s profit margin.”

Apple Quarterly Profit Soars 88% on IPod, Mac Sales

“Apple Inc. said Wednesday that earnings soared 88% in its second fiscal quarter thanks to booming sales of iPods as well as the company’s line of Mac computers. The consumer electronics maker said earnings for the quarter came in at $770 million, or 87 cents a share, compared to earnings of $410 million, or 47 cents a share, for the same period last year. Sales for the quarter grew more than 20% to $5.26 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 64 cents a share on revenue of $5.17 billion for the quarter, according to estimates from Thomson Financial.”

Apple earnings soar 88% in second quarter

Microsoft: iPhone useless for business

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:32:15 -0400

Useless for WHOSE business, exactly? Not useless for MY business. It’s possibly useless for those who run their businesses on Microsoft products, and while there may be many of them, they don’t represent all businesses. Of course it’s in Microsoft’s best interest if you believe their FUD.

Microsoft: iPhone useless for business

Gartner: Apple Mac shipments up 30% in the first quarter of 2007

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:06:56 -0400

This is great news for indie Mac developers like myself, as it means more potential customers. Very encouraging news!

MacDailyNews | Gartner: Apple Mac shipments up 30% in the first quarter of 2007, market share up 1%

Big iTunes sale: good albums at decent sale prices

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:11:07 -0400

Remember the “old days” of CD stores, when you could find older releases as “budget priced” CDs? They were a great way to replace those classic cassettes in your collection. Well leave it to Apple to bring this to the iTunes Store.

In the “bin” right now you can find Nirvana’s Nevermind, U2’s Joshua Tree and War, Def Leppard’s Pyromania, and many more.

Big iTunes sale: good albums at decent sale prices

Four Apple Pundits You Should Never Read

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 14:43:25 -0400

I’ve picked my own personal bone here with Enderle in the past. Some of the things he says are so ridiculous, you figure he has to be saying them for effect. Dvorak is a hack when it comes to the Mac, plain and simple. I have no opinion on Ou really, never read ‘im, but you know, I find Thurott to be way more reasonable now than in the distant past. I still disagree strongly with him at times, but as far as this company goes, he’s by far the MOST sane. At least he USES a Mac, I can’t say the same about the rest of them.

“If you are a long-time Apple user then you have probably heard of the four pundits below. They have written reams of bad advice, poor comparisons, unclear analysis, insane predictions, and general crap. But if you are relatively new to the world of Apple then you might mistakenly assume that these guys actually know what they’re talking about. Rest assured, they don’t.”

Four Apple Pundits You Should Never Read