Rob Fahrni » Apple

iPhone 4s, a failure

Rob Fahrni — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:19:05 +0000

Tecca.com: “— but it’s tough to not be disappointed by the iconic company’s most recent handset. Apple’s newest iteration of the iPhone is certainly nothing to sneeze at — it’s still one of the fastest, best-looking smartphones on the block — but it’s no iPhone 5.”

I don’t expect everybody to love the iPhone, that would be ridiculous. Different strokes and all.

The only problem I have with this article is the comparison of a real piece of hardware to something that doesn’t exist. How in the world can you make that comparison? In the article there’s a link to what the writer thinks the iPhone 5 should be.

Does any other manufacturer of hardware draw comparisons to mythical devices?

Atwood on Apple

Rob Fahrni — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 23:28:41 +0000

Jeff Atwood: “But as a software developer, I am deeply ambivalent about an Apple dominated future. Apple isn’t shy about cultivating the experience around their new iOS products and the App Store. There are unusually strict, often mysterious rules around what software developers can and cannot do — at least if they want entry into the App Store. And once you’re in, the rules can and will change at any time. Apple has cracked down several times already:”

Jeff, it’s ok to feel this way. You have other vendors to choose from. Android and Windows Phone 7 to name a couple of great ones.

I’m an iOS developer, not a popular one like Marco Arment, but an iOS developer all the same. I’m ok with giving Apple a 30% cut of my revenues. It’s a part of doing business. I benefit from their infrastructure. They’ve given me store space, server space, they’ve provided a way to install applications and manage upgrades, and they collect money for me so I don’t have to deal with credit card companies and the like. It’s not such a bad deal.

Now, I’m not disparaging Jeff for his opinion on the matter. It’s like a lot of things in life. We have different opinions. He just can’t live with the idea, and that’s perfectly fine. Jeff has contributed a lot to computing and computer science and I look forward to reading his insightful articles for a long time to come. I just may not agree with him. (Psssst, that’s ok.)

This just in, people like the iPhone

Rob Fahrni — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:54:40 +0000

Apple: “CUPERTINO, California—October 10, 2011—Apple® today announced pre-orders of its iPhone® 4S have topped one million in a single day, surpassing the previous single day pre-order record of 600,000 held by iPhone 4. iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.”

What a day. One million iPhone 4S orders in a single day.

I guess people like them.

ARC

Rob Fahrni — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:41:39 +0000

Mike Ash: “That, in essence, is what ARC is. The memory management rules are baked into the compiler, but instead of using them to help the programmer find mistakes, it simply inserts the necessary calls on its own.”

Reference counting is a pain in the keister, until you understand the rules. ARC is going to become an important tool in the quest to creating error free code. If you’ve ever written ref counted code you know how careful you need to be so you don’t leak memory or double-release something and cause a crash. It can be frustrating if you don’t pay attention.

This is a welcome change and one I’m looking forward to.

I think it’s time for an RxCalc refresh anyway. Plus some other nifty things I’ve been working on, that will definitely be ARC’d and Mac OS X Lion / iOS 5 only.

August 24, 2011

Rob Fahrni — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:08:29 +0000

That’s a day a lot of us will remember. It’s the day Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple. I wanted to record it here because all the talk on Twitter will disappear at some point and I want a permanent record of it.

Here’s the full text of his letter.

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

I wish him well. I really, really, do. Forget about Apple, Apple will be just fine, I’m more worried about the condition of the man.

Draconian App Store Rules

Rob Fahrni — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:28:34 +0000

Jim Dovey: “The store was removed because Apple rejected any updates which included it, period. They also rejected any updates which stated that Apple required its removal, or indeed any mention of ‘compliance with App Store guidelines’. It was further rejected for the cardinal sin of allowing users to create a Kobo account within the app. Then it was rejected for providing a link to let users create an account outside the app. Then it was rejected for simply mentioning that it was possible to sign up, with no direction on where or how one could do that. Then it was rejected for making any mention of the Kobo website. Then for any mention of ‘our website’ at all, in any language. We additionally cannot make any assertions that Kobo provides content for sale, however obliquely.”

How annoying. Makes you want to poke yourself in the eye with a sharp stick. Less pain.

I don’t much care for it, but it is their store, they make the rules. Either take it, or leave it. Enough leave it and they’ll make a change. Vote with your wallet.

Dan Gilmore’s bizarre Lion review

Rob Fahrni — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:11:33 +0000

Dan Gilmore: “This machine is a Macbook Air, a 13-inch model that came out last year. It is a stunningly fine combination of size, style and power. And Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard” is a terrific operating system. I’ve customized it for my needs, and have truly enjoyed using it.

Because so much of my work depends on having a reliable and up-to-date computer, I buy a new one each year, using the older one as a backup in case of trouble with the newer machine. In recent years, that has meant owning two roughly equivalent Macs.

The latest Macbook Air went on sale this week. As is always the case with technology, it’s even more powerful than the one I have. I crave it. I won’t buy it.“

He loves his MacBook Air, he loves Snow Leopard, so he’s not going to purchase a new MacBook Air because Snow Leopard won’t run on it? That just seems… odd.

Dan, you could use your current MacBook Air for another five years and have a better experience than you’ll get on modern hardware running Linux because the Linux crowd doesn’t care about UX.

You mention lack of tools you use on Linux.

“…not least of which is my inability to replace several must-have tools, notably sparse disk image bundles and several superb applications I use for my blogging and other media creation.”

There is a bright spot. Linux is open, and free! You can write your own tools to match your current Mac workflow. No problem. Who knows, once you become an emacs, or vi, expert and learn to write Bash scripts like a pro and add in a dash of Perl, Pyhon, and Ruby, you’ll probably come to appreciate the power and freedom of Linux. Just remember to share your work with the Linux ecosystem so everyone can benefit.

Yeah, I’m being serious about that. If you are a complete computing bit head Linux can be a terrific experience. Maybe Dan can find his inner geek?

Is this an experiment?

Here’s another thought, maybe Dan is conducting some sort of experiment? Maybe he’s trying to see how much power he has over his followers? Could it be? Is this an evil plot to destroy Apple?

It could happen.

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

None of this matters in the end. I find it odd, some will agree with his viewpoint, others will hate Apple because they can. Some will even hate Apple because they’re no longer the underdog.

Bottom line, I’m an Apple fanboy.

Is Microsoft the new DEC?

Rob Fahrni — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:24:19 +0000

MSDN: “Apple sold 15 million iPads in the first nine months, while the Microsoft tablet has flailed around for a decade. Why? Because Apple realizes what Microsoft does not: the true laptop form factor is an entirely different device, not a smaller PC. It requires a completely different design approach, much closer to a phone than to a PC. I’m watching my 8-year-old daughter play with my father’s iPad as I write these words. She loves it, far more than her PC at home. I wouldn’t write a novel on one, but my daughter prefers it for kaleidoscope art and pony races. “Toys,” sneered one current Microsoft employee. That’s exactly what Ken Olsen used to say about PCs.”

Sneer all you want at that “Toy” iPad, it’s taken you to the woodshed and laid a whoopin’ on you.

Microsoft will recover, don’t write them off. There once was a company called Apple that lost its way, now look where they are.

Apple Smackdown Coming?

Rob Fahrni — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:02:06 +0000

Cult of Mac: “Patent troll Lodsys has been suing iOS indie developers for using Apple’s own in-app purchasing mechanism. Sleazily, the company has claimed that they had no choice but to go after the little guy because Apple refused to cough up an App-Store-wide patent license.”

Apple could step in here and be a real knight in shining armor. They could offer to pay villainous scum Lodsys out of their 30% take from In App Purchase.

We’ll see.

Is Apple Big Brother?

Rob Fahrni — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:47:07 +0000

Alex Levinson: “I don’t think that’s a legal battle Apple wants to face considering the sale of over 100 million iDevices worldwide. That raises the question – how is this data used? It’s used all the time by software running on the phone. Built-In applications such as Maps and Camera use this geolocational data to operate. Apple provides an API for access to location awareness called Core Location.”

No, Apple isn’t “Big Brother”, that’s the government’s job. Go read the article, it’s very good, and gives you the truth about how the data is used, including this nice little nugget.

“Apple is not harvesting this data from your device. This is data on the device that you as the customer purchased and unless they can show concrete evidence supporting this claim – network traffic analysis of connections to Apple servers – I rebut this claim in full.”

Oh, and yes, Android devices do something similar.

If you have an iPhone and would like to create a map of the places you’ve been, there’s an app for that.