From the category archives:

Apple

The myth of “programming is the only creativity”

July 16, 2010

One of the often-used memes concerning Apple’s approach to iOS is that it’s for “passive consumers”, people who aren’t creative. In an interesting post on Google App Inventor, O’Reilly’s Mike Loukides dredges this one up again – and I think Mike is committing a classic geek error. Mike contrasts the approach of App Inventor, which [...]

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Turns out that making an “iPad killer” isn’t so easy after all

July 12, 2010
Thumbnail image for Turns out that making an “iPad killer” isn’t so easy after all

It’s three months since the launch of the iPad, and the much-heralded “Android iPad killers” are somewhat thin on the ground. HTC, probably the best Android hardware company around, isn’t making one. Neofonie’s WePad isn’t just missing in action – its site has vanished is still around, although the WePad has metamorphosed into the WeTab and [...]

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The era of simplified computing

July 11, 2010

I’m currently trying to get some thoughts down on the contrasting approaches of Google and Apple to the future of technology. There’s a whole host of stuff buzzing around my mind: are they yet another instalment of the conflict between Apollo and Dionysus? Do they represent yet another clash between C. P. Snow’s “two cultures”? [...]

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RedLaser iPhone app gets bought by eBay, goes free

June 24, 2010

RedLaser, the barcode and price comparison app that sat at the top of the best-seller list for a while, has been bought by eBay and is now free. What’s more, eBay is going to integrate the technology into its other apps: “eBay plans to integrate RedLaser’s barcode-scanning technology into its leading iPhone applications, including its [...]

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Marketing Week Live goes all iPhone AR crazy

June 24, 2010

I’m pretty skeptical about augmented reality applications in general, but there are some occasions when I think they’re actually quite useful. Events, for example, are a particular case where AR makes sense. The location is relatively small, but there’s usually a large amount of information surrounding particular areas within the event – seminars, press releases, [...]

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Magic Mac-ball says: No way!

June 23, 2010

I try not to get into the predictions game (partly because I’m too-often wrong) but I’m willing to bet that this little snippet from LOOPrumors is completely wrong: “LOOPRumors received a tidbit of information today suggesting Apple is planning to develop a hybrid OS into their next iMac. The iMac should be equipped with both [...]

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Who owns the platform? Adobe? Google?

June 22, 2010

Kevin Tofel on the announcement of Android support for Flash: The key word in Adobe’s press release today being “expected,” which appears three times. Platforms other than Android are expected to integrate and work with Flash Player. All of the latest Android handsets are expected to see Froyo, which is required for Flash Player 10.1. [...]

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Why Apple doesn’t want Flash on iOS

June 19, 2010

If you want to know why Apple wants Flash kept away from iOS, you should ask Palm: Adobe hasn’t given any signs that it’s close to porting Flash to webOS, Palm said in an AT&T online app development seminar on Thursday. When asked about the multiple delays, a representative said that Palm didn’t ‘know what [...]

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Why you should take reports of an iPhone on Verizon with a pinch of salt

June 18, 2010

Remember this report about how the iPad was a cert for Verizon?: “The tablet will be supported by multiple [mobile] carriers,” said Brian Marshall of Broadpoint AmTech, citing unnamed sources he said were close to the situation. “Verizon and others,” he continued. “Definitely Verizon. I’ve been told that’s a certainty.” As I said at the [...]

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Why market research makes for bad products

June 18, 2010

Image by Softly, Softly via Flickr Market research often falls down on one simple flaw: if you ask consumers what features they want before you show them a product, it’s almost never in line with what they end up buying: “Consumers didn’t ask for tablets,” she points out in her summary. “In fact, Forrester’s data [...]

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