It’s entirely possible Apple’s license already covers app developers and Lodsys is just trying to double-dip, but we simply can’t know that without seeing the license and fully evaluating Lodsys’s patent claims against Apple’s code. I can only assume Apple’s lawyers are busily investigating that right now — and I’d imagine the various iOS developers that received letters from Lodsys are impatiently waiting to hear from them.
Category: Apple
On iTunes, Cloud Services and Dreaming Big
Shadoe Huard, responding to my thoughts on a best-case scenario for a future iTunes music cloud service:
I think Apple foresees not only the logistical problems they might face, but also all the issues a user’s might encounter. Ease of use seems to play an important role in the way Apple designs iOS software. I think there are too many potential potholes in an entirely cloud based service for Apple to pursue as described by Mr.Hackett. Again, look at what people are saying about what’s currently on the menu.
Some Thoughts on the Rumored iTunes ‘Media Locker’ Cloud Service
With rumors flying and rivals launching semi-crappy products, most people expect Apple to launch some type of “music in the cloud” service this year, possible at WWDC in just a few weeks.
While I’m not sold on any cloud music service at this point, I do see how some people would love such a Apple-backed solution. Let’s look at my hazy crystal ball at what the company may be planning:
The Mac is Just a Tool
My Mac is nothing more than a overpriced pocket knife for me to scrawl stuff into it. And if I did not have that I would find a way. Because I have something to say. It’s what I do.
Find that thing that you do and do it. If it is, in fact, what you do, no tool will make you and no tool will stop you.
What I believe in.
On the iMac Hard Drive Thing
Marco Arment, on the recent changes to Apple’s stance on replacing iMac hard drives:
The iMac is a very clear, known tradeoff to the types of geeks like us who would even think about replacing its internal hard drive ourselves (or having an unauthorized place do it to save money or add unsupported parts):
You get a beautiful, slim, all-in-one, high-end Mac, with one of the best LCD panels on the market built in, for a very good price relative to PCs and an excellent price relative to the other Macs. For these benefits, you give up all after-purchase internal customization, expansion, and self-repairs, except RAM. If you want a more customizable desktop, you can either get a Windows PC (which, if you want a Mac, isn’t an alternative), you can spend a lot more money for a Mac Pro, or you can just deal with the iMac’s limitations.
Thirty Percent
The problem is, this isn’t a small fee. It not 5% or 10%. It’s 30%, almost a third of all revenue. Not profit, revenue. And this isn’t an independent store that needs to make a lot on each transaction. With an economy of scale like the App Store, Apple could make significant profit with a fee of only a few percent.
On the other hand, many of the apps in the App Store are from small independent companies, which can’t afford 30% with every single transaction. The problem is that it’s 30% across-the-board, regardless of the type of app, the type of subscription, etc. 30% may make sense for some apps, but certainly not for all, like those that distribute others’ content and therefore don’t have as much control over the pricing. Otherwise, the kind of apps that can afford to be on the App Store will continue to be restricted, with eBook sellers, music subscriptions services, and others being excluded unless they can cut a deal with Apple.
A Decade of Mac OS X Reviews
I’m serious about this: don’t click this link unless you have several hours of time to read through all of the reviews.
‘Not a Netbook’
The eMate is not a netbook. Wikipedia defines a netbook as a category of small, lightweight, legacy-free, and inexpensive laptop computers. Although the eMate has a small 6.81 inch display, weights just 4 lbs., lacks an optical drive, and cost $800 in 1997 it is not a netbook. The word netbook implies a clamshell computer with a network connection, and out of the box the eMate 300 has none.
Ten Years of Apple Retail
A Sub-1:1 iPad Program
Fraser Speirs, on replacing MacBooks with iPads in the classroom:
When looking at the iPad, it’s important to break out of the old mindsets. Replacing a cart full of laptops with a cart full of iPads will deliver a worse solution than the laptops. Here’s why:
Let’s call this model “thin slicing”, where each pupil gets to use an iPad for an hour or two a week. That’s how we used to share desktop computers and, with desktops and their multi-user operating systems, that was easy because each user’s files and settings were separated from every other user’s files and settings by the login system.
Apple and Google go to Washington
The First 64 Gigs
Patrick Rhone and Ben Brooks have been talking this week about minimal computing.
More specifically, about applications and minimal computing.
The most minimal Mac is the base model MacBook Air. At 11.6 inches with just 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, operating one seems to be a practice in minimalism in and of itself.
I’ll be honest — I love the small MacBook Air. I’m often tempted to order one, as it would be a great fit for me. At home, I have a beefy 27-inch iMac, and a super fast 15-inch MacBook Pro at work. Those machines aren’t minimal, simply because of what I have to accomplish while using them. However, I would love a third machine — the little Air — as a machine to use primarily for writing.