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Partner DNA

2009-08-02T17:48:48Z

The recent expulsion of Google Voice related apps, as well as Apple’s denial of Google Latitude as a native app reminded me of the Gates/Jobs interview at All Things D last year. Gates and Jobs were asked what they had learned about running their own business that they wished they had thought of sooner or thought of first by watching the other guy. Here’s Steve’s response:

You know, because Woz and I started the company based on doing the whole banana, we weren’t so good at partnering with people. And, you know, actually, the funny thing is, Microsoft’s one of the few companies we were able to partner with that actually worked for both companies. And we weren’t so good at that, where Bill and Microsoft were really good at it because they didn’t make the whole thing in the early days and they learned how to partner with people really well.

And I think if Apple could have had a little more of that in its DNA, it would have served it extremely well. And I don’t think Apple learned that until, you know, a few decades later.

Apple’s recent struggles with Google and AT&T, along with the poor treatment of some of its most valuable smaller partners have made it clear that Steve’s insight is still painfully relevant.

Google Chrome OS: How less could be more

2009-07-09T15:42:55Z

Nearly every opinion I’ve read about Google Chrome OS has been negative. The predominant thinking is that if a perfectly capable light-weight version of Linux is already available for free, why would you want an OS that can’t run any apps?

Well, let’s think about this for a second. How could less be more? The five main opportunities for user value that come to mind are battery life, security, robustness, user experience, and cost.

What if you could triple battery life?

The iPhone has excellent battery life because Apple doesn’t allow third party background process, and because the device has built-in hardware decoding components for the most popular audio and video codecs.

If you control the entire OS there’s an opportunity to optimize power consumption to a level that isn’t possible with a more generic OS. In a regular OS, apps simply have too much freedom to hog the system’s resources.

What if security was simply not an issue?

Because apps have very limited powers, there’s very little damage an app can do to your system. When you think about it, the kind of power you give perfect strangers when you install an application on a traditional OS is insane. Unless you use Google Chrome OS, you are always one click away from identity total theft or the complete demolition of all your data.

What if nothing could freeze or slow down your computer?

Do you remember the snappy feeling you had when you did a fresh install on your computer? Everyone accepts that systems tend to slow down over time, as you install more software. In a traditional OS, because applications have so much power, they are able to slow down your computer (or drain your battery) at will. While the web still has the possibility of run-away scripts, the ability of a single app to cause damage or bloat is severely limited.

What if everything was as easy to use as Amazon?

People care about their stuff. They don’t care about file systems, shortcuts, installers, upgrades, turning your computer on/off, and other old-fashioned concepts. These concepts don’t add any real value to the user experience, so why not remove a layer of complexity and bring people directly to their data?

What if you could have everything you want for free?

Removing layers of software reduces the cost of the hardware. Being able to use specialized hardware decoding chips lets you use cheaper components that provide a much better user experience. Carriers will love Google Chrome devices because they’ll be very easy to support and they’re a perfect match for always-on network services. With over one billion phones being sold every year, a device that does a better job of running web apps and playing web media than any low-cost laptop may prove irresistible if it’s free.

I believe there’s a real opportunity here for Google to build a new platform. If you cut out all the legacy support and you focus solely on what people care about, people will, with absolute certainty, fall in love with what you’ve built. I hope they get it right.

Casual use of GPL may be harmful to your health

2009-07-03T04:26:34Z

I’m writing this post using MarsEdit, a well-designed blog client maintained by Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software. Daniel recently wrote a very thoughtful note about software licensing:

Violating the GPL is easy. All you have to do is write some code, intermingle it with some GPL code, distribute a changed copy of the original, and refuse to share your contributions. Bam! You’re toast.

Many developers nonchalantly include code in their applications without carefully checking which license the code comes attached with. Daniel also writes about how GPL might stifle participation:

GPL communities are open and embracing of other GPL developers, but generally off-putting to liberal-license and closed-license developers. Only the liberal-license communities are attractive to developers from all 3 camps.

I agree. Truly free licenses, like the MIT license and the BSD license, don’t limit your freedom or require you to give away the fruits of your labor. Of course, GPL has seen tremendous success and popularity, but in my own projects (both as an open source consumer and contributor) I will choose a less restrictive license whenever possible.

iDaily – Learn something new every day

2009-07-02T08:32:38Z

Sax.net’s latest iPhone/iPod app is now available on iTunes: iDaily is a calendar application that shows you interesting facts about today:

Famous people who are having their birthday today.
Important events on this day in history.
Nature facts, including the time the sun rises/sets and the current phase of the moon.
Quote of the Day

You can use iDaily to:

Keep yourself from being bored.
Learn interesting conversation starters about today.

iPhone DevCamp on Yahoo Campus

2009-07-01T22:49:23Z

Join me at iPhone DevCamp 3, July 31 – August 2 (yes, that’s a weekend) on Yahoo Campus in Sunnyvale, CA.

It promises to be an exciting gathering of iPhone developers and stakeholders.

Speakers, keynotes, and a special musical guest will be announced shortly so be sure to sign up before it’s sold out.

Visual and viral

2009-10-01T19:40:36Z

Check out http://fixoutlook.org.

This is the smartest grassroots social media campaign I’ve seen in a long time. They send an email and encourage you to mention this site in a twitter message. The site shows a page with everyone who does.

Update: Microsoft Corporate VP William Kennedy posted a very disappointing response to the campaign. Disappointing not so much because they won’t change Outlook 2010: I didn’t have any expectations this late in the development cycle.

Microsoft’s response is disappointing because it was full of marketing double-speak:

We’ve made the decision to continue to use Word for creating e-mail messages because we believe it’s the best e-mail authoring experience around, with rich tools that our Word customers have enjoyed for over 25 years.

Word has always done a great job of displaying the HTML which is commonly found in e-mails around the world.

There is no widely-recognized consensus in the industry about what subset of HTML is appropriate for use in e-mail for interoperability.

The response hypes up Word as a document/email creation tool without addressing the core criticism of the campaign about reading emails that contain fairly basic CSS-based HTML which has been around for many years now.

Dancing with a new elephant

2009-07-01T19:13:40Z

A few months ago I created EasyWriter, my first iPhone application. Although it started out as a bit of an experiment, EasyWriter became an instant hit with millions of downloads and a mass of delighted users. The purpose of the application was to let you write emails using a bigger, horizontal keyboard. Apparently Apple took notice because the latest version of the iPhone OS has some of EasyWriter’s capabilities as a built-in feature.

The release of the latest iPhone OS has effectively rendered the original version of EasyWriter obsolete. I’ve received a few emails from users enquiring if I plan to take or lobby for legal action against Apple for doing this. After all, that’s what companies like Netscape and Opera have done when Microsoft integrated some of the capabilities of their products into the operating system. The short answer is: absolutely not.

The instant success of EasyWriter made it clear that iPhone users wanted a feature that Apple had not anticipated. It’s perfectly natural for Apple to respond to this by improving their own software and meet the needs of their customers. Even if the iPhone’s dominance in mobile computing is rapidly approaching the level that Windows has enjoyed on the desktop, there’s nothing that should stop Apple from pleasing its customers. I believe in innovation, not litigation.

Working with giant companies like Apple is very much like dancing with an elephant: Sometimes you can get on top and enjoy enormous success while riding it. However, you have to be ready to respond quickly or you’ll fall off and get stomped when the elephant’s foot comes down. The elephant doesn’t even realize she may be squishing you. It’s up to you to turn every challenge into an opportunity.

So where does that leave EasyWriter? Alive and kicking! A new version, designed specifically for iPhone OS 3.0 is under development. I’m sure that iPhone users everywhere will appreciate the spell checker, Blackberry-style AutoText, and other innovative features. Innovation, not litigation.

Amazon EC2 for Windows

2008-10-26T04:02:55Z

Check out Dave Winer’s adventures with a Windows box on Amazon EC2. It reminds me of Jerry Pournelle’s old Chaos Manor columns in Byte: real world narration of adventures in using new and interesting technology. That’s much better than the reworked press release you get in many articles these days. At $93/month for a basic Windows box EC2 is not exactly cheap, but the flexibility and on-demand scalability is intriguing.

Google Analytics, Silverlight, and .NET

2008-10-24T15:02:43Z

Like many site analytics applications, Google Analytics will track how many site users have Java, Flash, and other web technologies installed on their system (and which version). Notably absent from the list are the .NET Framework and Silverlight. I like Google Analytics, but this information is very important for me.

Nikhil Kothari has created a workaround with a snippet of Javascript code that will detect Silverlight and set Analytics variables.

Workarounds – even elegant ones like this one – often end up being maintenance problems. The possibility of something creating an unexpected Javascript error on every page of our website is not acceptable.

Maybe it’s time to check out Microsoft adCenter Analytics

Instant Visual Studio Productivity Boost

2008-10-21T18:04:43Z

Stephen Walther can save you hours of time with these Essential Visual Studio Tips & Tricks that Every Developer Should Know:

You don’t need to select a line to copy or delete it
You can add a namespace automatically by pressing CTRL-.
Never create properties by hand.
You can remove and sort unnecessary using statements.
Use CTRL-k+c to comment out code.
You can close all documents except the current one.
You can open a database by double-clicking the database file in App_Data.
You can copy a file or folder into a project by dragging and dropping.
Use CTRL-SPACE to perform statement completion.
Add new items by pressing CTRL-N or CTRL-SHIFT+A.
You don’t need to type file extensions when adding a file.

Highly recommend.