@Arrington and the Crunchpad.

The internet is awash with the news that the CrunchPad is dead. More accurately, dead on arrival.

I won’t regurgitate all the original details, which you can find here. 

This morning (or this afternoon, depending where you are), Mike posted an update.

The letters attached make for interesting reading (even if they are long on legalese).

Originally I wrote a couple of long paragraphs before confusing even myself.  But I’ll quote Mike:

There is just no way to argue that TechCrunch is not the joint owner of all intellectual property of the CrunchPad, and outright owner of the CrunchPad trademark. The CEO of Fusion Garage has spent nearly six months this year working from Silicon Valley and our offices. Most of the Fusion Garage team has spent the last three months here working with our team on the project. And our key team members have spent time in Singapore working directly on the hardware and software that powers the device. Fusion Garage emails and their own blog, before it was deleted, acknowledge this. We have also spent considerable amounts of money creating the device, paying the vendor and other bills that Fusion Garage wasn’t able to.

What’s even more absurd is the idea that we somehow knew about Fusion Garage’s intentions to break off the partnership before a couple of days prior to the device launching. Until November 17 we had every reason to believe that Fusion Garage was our trusted ally in creating the CrunchPad. We received nearly daily emails confirming that everything was on track. Raising funding for the project was a goal but wouldn’t have been necessary for some time; besides, we had U.S. investors lined up and ready to put money into the venture. Fusion Garage admitted to us on November 18 that the news of them pulling out of the partnership was “out of the blue.”

There is quite simply no way we will allow this company to move forward on this project. The extent of their fraud is only now becoming clear to me. The audacity of their scheme is staggering. We believe that they engaged with us until the last possible moment to get press attention and access to our development resources and cash, and then walk away hoping that we’d do nothing.

Other Options

 

Disclaimer: What I’m about to do here is be incredibly naive and view the world for a moment the way a programmer does: neat, ordered and sensible.

I wonder what solutions there are to this mess (besides legal proceedings). One is to throw money at the problem. And no, I’m not suggesting mike buys the company, or the rights.

Its interesting that Mike planned to have ChromeOS running on the CrunchPad at the launch. Although the CrunchPad predates the relase of ChromeOS, it is the the very epitome of the types of devices the creators of ChromeOS envisioned running ChromeOS on.

So I think that Google, indirectly, has a stake in the success of the CrunchPad.

So, and this may seem un-orthodox, but I suggest that Google should buy out FG. Google has the money, after all.

It’s a win-win for everyone involved. Mike gets on with his Crunchpad. Google gets a posterchild for its ChromeOS (plus being able to contribute significantly to the device software to make sure the Google Experience is up to standard).

ChromiumOS is opensource. The crunchpad started out is short life as an opensourced, crowdsourced project. I can’t imagine a better match.

There is a market.

There is a market for that device, even with the iTablet looming on the horizon. I.e, Me. I’m sitting on my couch right now as I type this. A CrunchPad would be much easier than my Dell Laptop. 

Knowing Apple, the iTablet will be expensive (even if its a contract device). The CrunchPad will be far cheaper (between $300 to $400 as far as i know).

Besides the price issue (and the little matter of a global recession), rumour, as well as logic has it that that Apple will impose an App Approval Process for the iTablet. And an App Store. The pros and cons of a such a move are for another post when we have more substantial information.

This stands in stark contrast with the CrunchPad

Mike says that the CrunchPad can be hacked to run Windows 7 (that would be awesome) and ChromeOS (and by extension any Linux based OS including Android).

(Actually I think Mike should have a version with no OS preloaded)

I’d much rather buy a Crunchpad I can write my own apps for. And before anyone accuses me of hypocrisy (since I like the App Store), I will not tolerate an App Store for anything approaching a work machine.

And after all the problems developers are having with the App Store, I have no intention of writing Apps for the iPhone (Apple does have the chance to change this, mind you).

Not being able to write apps for my iPhone frustrates me to no end. There are too many roadblocks.

However, with the promise of the CrunchPad, I drool at the App possibilities. Being a totally open platform, the possibilities are endless. Whether one uses ChromeOS ( more properly, ChromiumOS), Linux or Windows 7, the underlying hardware will be exposed for the developer to use.

Public Opinion is heavily in favour of the CrunchPad. Public Opinion is squarely behind Mike Arrington (yes, this includes me).

Hopefully it will live.

PS. For a fascinating discussion on the CrunchPad, listen to MacBreak Weekly 169: This Is What Happens Larry

iTunes Extras

I bought Night at the Museum 2 last night purely to test iTunes Extras.

Naturally, since we’ve had these special features on DVD’s since, well, forever, it wasn’t the most mind blowing experience in the world.

I have to say I have seen some DVD menu’s that look, frankly, a lot better.  But I suspect that it will improve as publishers get to grips with the full capability of the format.

It’s worth noting that iTunes Extras is actually 2 files. The movie itself and the Extras. For a moment I’d though I bought the movie twice. But rest easy.

Here are pictures from my Apple TV.

As you can see, its not strikingly different from a DVD menu.

 

Again, not a new feature. Nothing noteworthy here, move along.

 

One nice feature is the above menu, allowing you to go to the extra Screen instead of playing the movie.

 

I must say, it is nice to have special features without having to get the DVD. I hope more and more movie get this, and not just the new releases (Though I did notice that the original The Wizard of Oz movie has Extras – see last picture). I suppose that this is one area where Apple’s grab for the living room puts it in sharp contrast to Windows Media Centre. I don’t think WMC will do the special features if you copy and paste the Video_Ts folder.

This is also interesting: a shameless attempt to sell us more stuff. A link to iTunes movie trailers and a link to Twentieth Century Fox. It would be cool if this were updated on a regular basis with other stuff. It would be a good place to put special offers. Such as 50% off the soundtrack because you bought the movie (so you have you buy the movie and get the soundtrack from this screen).

The movies with Extra have this little icon next to them to distinguish them from the rest of the “ordinary” movies:

 

Finally, here are the available movies with iTunes Extras:

 

I have two of those movies: Walle-e and Iron Man, both bought from iTunes when they were released. But iTunes Extras weren’t available then. A Endgaget post seemed to suggest that only if you already bought these with Extras could you re-download them to work with Apple Tv 3.0.2. So I’m not sure hat the deal is. It would be very sad if i could not get Extras for them.

Finally, it would be interesting if someone figured out how to translate from DVD menus to iTunes Extras.

PS And yes, some pictures are not properly centred and are thus utter crap. Sue me.

Apple’s App Store ( or NoStore, the way things are going)

Apple’s draconian App store approval process (more like rejection process, currently) needs a share up. Here are a few suggestions to stream line the process.

1. Reviewers need to have accountability. We have heard of one reviewer accepting and app, but another reviewer rejecting it. Reviewers need to manage an account made up of a number of apps, ensuring that one reviewer handles an app throughout its lifecycle on the store.
2. There should be two kinds of updates – bug fixes that need to be pushed out STAT and upgrades that add features. Splitting updates up like this is the equivalent of adding a car pool lane. Bug fixes go out immediately, but new features are still reviewed.
3. This has been suggested before, but I’ll say it again: trusted developers should be given carte blanche.

Managing 100k apps on the store is NOT easy. Apple’s tenacious grip on every single app is unsustainable. It has to give up some of that top make the app store work.

To be clear, I love the app store. I trust Apple that the apps I install aren’t going to brick my phone. Or that hidden features are going to leave me embarrassed when others borrow the phone. That Apps will be well designed and though out.

Apple is trying to preserve the design aesthetic and vision that Steve Jobs had. That is why originally Apple pushed developers to build web apps. And indeed, there are still some web apps around that I use frequently. The Google Reader iPhone page, the Friendfeed iPhone page, etc. Apple never intended that this be the case. The App store mess marrs the otherwise pristine reputation of the iPhone. It is a perpetual thorn in Steve Jobs’ side.

I hope it gets sorted, soon.

How the Zune will save the Music Industry (or why I want one)

I must say, upfront, that i think the Zune HD is an excellent device. While admitantly below par when compared to the iPod Touch or the iPhone.

There are still weak points, like the mobile browser being IE6 based ( IE6 has more holes than Swiss cheese).

But the Zune is not simply pure hardware. The Zune Pass you can purchase ($15??) gives you essentially unlimited music (plus 10 free tracks a month that are yours to keep forever).

That is the key to the Zune succeeding big in the world. Think of the implications for your music listening habits.

The Zune will scan your music library and download tracks that complement it. Automatically. No human input required. No Passwords, nothing. Nada. This is great for music discovery, not to mention indie bands and labels whose work may not be as well known.

Andy Ihnatko  made the point on last weeks episode of Macbreak Weekly that instead of simply being restricted to 30 second previews per track of an album, Zune Pass allows you to just download and buy the whole album. I had that situation just the other day. I was trying to figure out if I should get the soundtrack to 500 Days of Summer (great movie BTW, but I digress) from iTunes. If I had Zune Pass, I could get the whole thing and only then decide if I like it. I could then make that my 10 free tracks for the month.

Talking of which, that episode is a must listen since it centres on the Zune HD.

Also available on the Zune are TV programs and movies, although the catalogue is far smaller than the one on iTunes. I’m not totally sure whether this is included in the Zune Pass, but lets assume for a minute, that it is. Since it should be.

See at the moment I’ve bought 3 seasons of The West Wing on iTunes. All of which were a perfectly reasonable £19.99 each. Now season 4 is £34.99. I’d like to buy Season 4, really. But that is too darn expensive. I can rent a few movies every weekend for a month for that price. If I had a Zune Pass, this would be a different story completely. You see i really DON’T want 60 West Wing episodes taking up space on my Hard Drives. Apple can have them back. But I do want to continue watching the series. A Zune Pass would let me do both of those things.

I’m sure that both Apple and the Record Labels and the Studios would love for me to continue spending money. But as long as prices are that high, my money isn’t going anywhere. What would you rather have, a burst of income once in a blue moon, or a steady, albeit lower than usual, income stream??? Multiply that by  millions of millions of subscribers and you’re sitting on a friggin’ fortune.

As I said on Twitter earlier, make it easier for customer to spend their hard-earned cash on things they actually want to buy. I want to buy music and that 4th season of the West Wing, really, but i want a Zune Pass. Or an iTunes Pass. Something.

It goes without saying that this will deter many MANY (illegal) casual file sharers. The benefits of a Zune pass are extraordinarily compelling.

I suspect that the music industry  and the studios are dragging its heels on this. Let the Zune go global, and let iTunes do something similar.

Fans every will thank you.

PS. Apple. I want wireless syncing with my iPhone. Now.

Apple v Google

Apple’s rejection out-of-hand of the Google Voice App has the interwebs all a flutter with rumours and speculation, not to mention fury as well.

Although I’m in the Uk and therefore locked out of a GV account until its released here, I’m looking forward to using it soon. Its no accident that I’m especially looking forward to using it with my iPhone, or i was in any case.

The reason why this is causing such an uproar is that the target market for GV users just happens to overlap rather significantly with that of the iPhone.

The fact is though, Google Apps for Business does not get enough attention these days. In fact, there has been a spate of articles on how Google Apps for Domain falls down when it comes to being a valid option for businesses.  My hope is that Google integrates GV into the suite, giving clear value and functionality for the business user (read: me).

I envision a number of use cases where this could work.

• Imagine, via GV, a Google Wave, document, spreadsheet or presentation open magically when you answer the call. Not only are you talking to the person, you can collaborate in real time)especially rue of Google Wave).
• Google Contacts will give caller identity a whole new meaning, even if the callers aren’t already in our address book.
• In fact, Since this is really a domain oriented service, imagine being able to ring contact.yourdomain.com and getting through to reception????

The fact is that Google is positioning Google Apps for Domain to be its integrated business offering.

Microsoft has Office Communication server, which requires built in telephone networks. But has none of the integration opportunities that Google Apps for Domain has.

In fact, it would be worth the money.

If true, the fact is that Apple is obstructing Google’s business plans. No wonder the FCC and the net-neutrality lobby is up in arms.

And if this eWeek article has any truth to it, its because Apple wants to built a similar service for Mobile Me. Its not too far fetched to imagine, and makes logical sense.

Depending on Apples implementation of it (keeping 9n mind the debut of Mobile Me), it may just tempt people away from Google Apps for Domain with GV.

But apple, seriously, if you are going to start acting like this to pre-empt the competition, remember one thing: Out-Innovate Google and you’ve won. It would be a shame for Apple to start acting like Microsoft in the 1990’s.

And what if it was AT&T???? that i can’t answer. But AT&T’s reputation is so battered and bruised with iPhone users, that they may all jump ship to Android and Pre. And even more are going to be jailbreaking to get the app.

This is a state of affairs that benefits no one.

See. I like my iPhone. A lot. Every day I discover some new feature or app that makes it even better. When el Jobso gave his blessing to this device, you can see why. And they have thrown that all away with this one stupid decision.

Or have they??

Apple have a very definite reason for doing this.

I can’t wait to see what it is.

Bad Design, Illustrated

So here I am. Sick as a dog. And I need to renew my tvtv subscription. Which mean I need to re-select my device (why I need to do this in the first place is a mystery to me).

So I get to the above screen. What does it say? Read it: Select Device Password. Which leaves me wondering.

Call it stupid ( or not, depending on you point of view – but remember that this is seen through the fog of a muddled brain), but I check all my instruction manuals in vain. I spent a few hours scouring various forums. Only then did it dawn on me that since there was nothing on this mythical device password, there must be none.

So I went back and checked ever so carefully the help section of TVTV’s website for the 21st time. And there it was “Please re-enter your password for security reasons”. Since this is not part of the shopping bit, I can’t imagine why all the security.

My point being that a little clarity on the above page would have saved me loads of time.

In 20/20 – hindsight, the page does make some sort of sense. “Select” is never used in conjunction with a textbox. But the style of both the headings (since they are indeed supposed to be separate) is the same – font, weight, colour, size. And they are right underneath the other, as if following on. Separation of these two headings in some way – certainly i terms of style or better yet, in spacing – would clear any confusion.

“Please retype your password” makes sense in the light of know that its your password they want. But given the design miscues above, looked out of place and perhaps referred to when I’d actually have to retype this mythical device password .

There is no obvious help button or icon, or even tooltip that is visible on this form – bad practice in any situation. A tooltip/label saying “Please enter you TVTV password here” would do wonders. I’ve seen websites that actively display help in a side bar, explaining the purpose of each and every form field. A “what does this do” explanation never hurts either.

Even when one is confronted with readily intuitive fields such as credit/debit card forms online, help makes the process a whole lot less daunting ( one is after all, dealing with real money. Making mistakes is not the way forward).

The point is that as winforms, webforms, WPF, Silverlight –developers and UI designers, making our users happy is the number one priority. That means designing good, intuitive UI’s and helping them to use it, too.

I’ve had my share or websites that the thought of using them gets me angry. There are others that I think are a little too liberal with their help information, coddling their users in wool. But I’ve never ever had an issue with those websites, ever.

The iPhone is, I think, the canonical expression of a good UI. My very tech-limited mother likes mine so much that she is getting one herself ( she’s had her current phone for two years and still hasn’t figured out how to text/SMS, yet has almost total command of the iPhone). Its a combination of UI touch screen that makes the difference. touching, pointing, dragging, pinching. These are all actions we use naturally every day – no mice to move and click, no keys to press. Its the intuitiveness of the whole experience that makes it so successful as a UI.

So while we may still depend on mice and keyboards, intuitiveness in our UI is something that our users will be grateful for.

iPhone UI Rant

I present to you my dear reader the first in an infinite series of posts in which I rant.

Now my iPhone ( which I got about 4 weeks ago) is great. I love it.

But every now an against there are a few things that crop up and bite me.

Now I’m a big believer in the UI. the UI makes or breaks a program or device. And the Ui needs to steer a fine line between restricting the options avaliable and leaving its users howling. Or opening too many options that can end up breaking the program (one cannot know the precise combination of large numbers of inputs an their effects in a large number of different situations).

So I understand that. But I’m asking for Apple to enable a few more options in the settings

• Apple: the battery on your device sucks. Unless you turn off 3G, you battery life goes down the toilet. So heres what I’m asking you to do ( since this is your problem in the first place). Allow me to toggle a setting such that 3G is only turned on for Safari or other internet applications and turned off when I quit. Do the same with Wi-Fi. And since there is no MMS or video calling, no one is gonna need it anyway for calling and texts anyway.
• Your keyboard sucks too. But your software dosen’t. I’ve even taken notes for a two hour lecture on my iPhone and its worked out well enough. Just let me have pervasive tilting so that I can type on the larger keys.
• Mobile Safari crashes on me with astounding regularity. When an app crashes, at least do it gracefully. A black screen or the home screen does not cut it. Do something like your arch rivals in Redmond do and let your users know that you have collected the error data so  that you can work on it. Its amazingly calming (the flow of updates on the first Tuesday of every month provides that psychic calm to Jerry Sienfeld). And offer to restart the app too. Since you don’t get crashes on OSX very often, we’ll give you some time to get it right.
• The appearance of an unified mailbox would be nice. Its a pain having to go all the way back to the accounts tab to swap accounts.
• Do not tell me that syncing with a new exchange server wipes my current calendar and contacts. Seriously Apple this is a major mistake. And has multiple level of fail. This is 2008 and people are going to have more than one calender. Get used to it. And people have hundreds of contacts. Who is going to take responsibility if they mysteriously disappear?
• If a Youtube video is unavailable tell me, don’t take me to the Youtube mobile search page. Is that so difficult?

Now don’t get me wrong, the UI is brilliant. It answers all my other gripes about other phones.

Even my mother (who would have been frightened of a Mechanical Turk) can use it. She required no instruction whatsoever and is as happy as a clam using it.

Apple, history has handed you on a golden platter the chance to completely redefine what people do with handheld devices forever.

Use it.

iPods, Touch Screens and the Future

With the release of the 2.0 software update for the Touch, Apple has made a mockery of every smartphone on the market as well as the DS and the PSP.

Short of an iPhone, it is quite simply the indispensable gadget to have on you at all times.

I have no Exchange servers to connect to and haven’t tried MobileMe. But I have been in the App Store. And boy, have been buying.

I’m a Crash Bandicoot fan from the dark old days of the PS1, so the first game I got was Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart Racing 3D. And it does not disappoint. The tilt controllers make it a compelling game, as well as a challenging one. And one you will strive to master. Just play it standing still as the tilt sensors are sensitive. 

iPint is hilarious. For a free app its brilliant. I’ve been generating laughs with it all weekend.

I installed DutchTab as well. Thought I’d get a chance to use it over the weekend, but it didn’t present itself. Calculating how to split the tab is difficult so I usually don’t bother, just leave an unusually large tip. This should change that.

However, not all the applications in App Store are iTouch compatible. GPS and Camera apps naturally will only work on an iPhone.

This makes the iPhone 3G a really compelling device to get.

There has been lots of discussion over on FriendFeed about how this changes the nature of personal computing ( see here, here and here for a selection). The basic idea is that it changes personal computing in a big way.

I’d also say that the idea of ubiquitous computing comes closer as well. With a device like the iPod Touch and the iPhone, we take computing power where ever we need it – it seamlessly integrates with our lives. We take the web with us as well, fulfilling the dream of constantly connected devices. Push email is not  a new idea – Blackberry owners have had it for years. But Apple had taken it to a whole new level. Using the touch screen, ur interactions with our devices become so much more natural and compelling. A keyboard and mouse reminds you of what you are using, a touch screen uses the human mediums of touch, feel and gestures to communicate.

This is where computing is going in the next few years. I prefer using my Touch for web browsing because of the touch screen – its feels more natural. Windows & will have touch screen built in, and Microsoft Surface is already capitalising on the naturalness of the touch screen to re-definite the way we interact with computers – and redefine computers themselves.

As science fiction writer William Gibson said:

The future is here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet

WWDC – To iPhone or Not?

via Michael Gartenberg

Need I say more??

iPod Touch Week One

I’ve been listening to music too much and posting too little .

The iPod Touch ( I prefer calling it the iTouch) is really good. Some songs come out sounding  better than they do on my speakers on the PC (Ok, not the best available speakers – JBL Creature).

The web browser is really really good. The whole JavaScript thing doesn’t work ( which you would expect since it is a full version of Safari, I belive). I mean what on earth were Apple thinking??? How many websites do  you  know of that don’t have Javascript???? I use it all the time in developing websites. Even if it’s not for visual stuff, java script can be doing a lot of heavy lifting in the background ( take, dare I say it, Facebook Beacon).

Looking at Google Reader in Classic mode is an experience somewhere between being eaten alive and having an out-of-body-experience of the event – can’t decide which is worse.  Trying to type and send an email in GoogleMail ( I tried), I found a strong urge to became a Chinese Citizen ( even the Great Firewall of China doesn’t stop Javascript) . And by the way, I did finish the email and used by PC to find the addresses to send it to.

Though the Mobile mode is much, much better. I think its specially formatted for the iPhone/iTouch.

Viewing websites that don’t run on JavaScript or gracefully handled the fact that Javascript was off was pretty good. I think the lack of Javascript was one of the main reasons that Youtube is a separate application on the iTouch.

Don’t even get me started on Flash support…

The integration with iTunes direct from the iTouch is a gift from heaven itself, from His Steveness to his faithful Apple flock

Change that to an iTouch Comic and it would be perfect.

Youtube works seamlessly as well.

Now, the Syncing experience is something else. If I plug my iPod into my laptop instead of my PC ( keeping in mind I originally used my PC to Sync the iTouch), I get asked if I want to erase my iTouch and sync new music to it. Now my library is exclusively ripped CD’s that I’ve bought myself. Shouldn’t iTunes recognize that I already have music from the library ( both my laptop and PC use the same iTunes library out of a shared network location on my server) and shouldn’t it allow me to add, change or delete the playlists/music on my iTouch???

Now if there was a way to sync shared  library music (i.e from iTunes running over the server and sharing its library) to my iPod, there wouldn’t be this problem ( if there is, please post a comment. Thanks). 

Podcast subscriptions work great. Already subscribed to Scott Hanselmann.

Can’t complain about anything else. the design is great. the interface is supurb. Take how the screen gently coasts to a stop when you’ve finished scrolling. The whole flipping thing is really great. I’m getting used to it and its quite responsive when you know what to do.

My mother was using it quite well with out even being told what to do. She still asks me about emails.

Can’t wait for the SDK to come out. I’m assuming that the iPhone SDK is also for the iTouch. Can’t wait till I can say: “Pimp my iTouch”.

Dear Steve:

We hold these truths to be self-evidently pie in the sky, that all bloggers are created equal, that they are endowed by their Computers and iPhones with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are lots and lots of Links, [JavaScript, Flash] and the pursuit of AdSense Dollars

Ken Newsome

PS added in the bit about Javascript and Flash myself.