Categories
Business Weblogging

The Genius of Daring Fireball

Daring Fireball: “But I see the fact that Daring Fireball’s revenue streams should remain unaffected by Safari content-blocking as affirmation that my choices over the last decade have been correct: that I should put my readers’ interests first, and only publish the sort of ads and sponsorships that I myself would want to be served, even if that means leaving (significant) amounts of money on the table along the way.”

Great content isn’t the only experience Mr. Gruber provides. He created a super brilliant, non-invasive, ad model to support his company. He has ads via The Deck and takes one week RSS feed sponsorships. The sponsor provides promotional content at the beginning of the week, which appears in a blog post, and he thanks the sponsor at the end of the week with a blog post. Nifty.

It took Mr. Gruber a while to figure this stuff out. It didn’t happen over night. Others have adopted this model; Six Colors and The Loop come to mind. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re a small indie publisher it can work quite well, if you have great content. That’s the key. Great content attracts people.

How well? Pretty darned well if you ask me. As of this writing Mr. Gruber’s Daring Fireball fetches $9,750.00 for a one week sponsorship (I believe it’s a progressive scale throughout the year.) That’s some serious cheddar.

Genius.

Categories
Apple

Is the future macOS?

If, like me, you’re an Apple fan you know they announced a bunch of new products on Wednesday. It seems apparent to me the future is based on the iOS codebase, not OS X.

We now have iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. I may be wrong, but I suspect watchOS and tvOS are derivatives of iOS. It makes sense. When Apple created iOS they started at the bottom layer of the OS and worked their way up. They reused the Kernel and Core Foundation. On top of that they added UIKit and a touch layer to give us the unique experience we get with iOS today. The important thing to note is the OS was stripped down and made to fit the device it was built for, by fit I mean the feel as well as the size of the OS.

With iOS Apple took the opportunity to tighten up how applications could interact with the operating system. It’s still a very powerful OS, but Apple removed all the power user features. The ability to peek under the hood is gone. As a developer we’re no longer given access to all parts of the computer. We all get our own little sandbox to play in. This was all done so bad people couldn’t turn your phone into a virus factory. In other words, it was done in the name of securing the device, making sure it would always work. It is Apple’s most secure operating system, and that’s saying a lot given OS X’s reputation.

Yeah, AppleWhy all the talk about iOS? Well, I think it’s the future of the desktop. With the introduction of the iPad Pro Apple is beginning to blur the line between tablet and desktop. It’s the first hybrid device for Apple. We all know Microsoft created the Surface years before. Where Microsoft took the approach of bringing a full desktop operating system to the Surface, Apple decided to begin with iOS and work up. Folks will say this will make iPad Pro less powerful, I don’t think so. How much “power” do you need? It’s not as if people really care about technical specs when they buy computers, right? Well, if you do, iPad Pro is more than capable.

Bringing laptop class power to a tablet has fueled speculation that the Mac could move to ARM processors, or maybe it’s better to say OS X could run on ARM.

Rich Siegel via Twitter:

It’s not a stretch to believe OS X will be completely ported to ARM — remember iOS shares core code with OS X. In fact it may already run on ARM processors.

That brings me to the point of this post. I’m beginning to believe iOS, and Universal Apps, are the future of everything Apple ships. Not only will OS X be ported to ARM at some point, I believe we will see an Apple laptop based on ARM processors running iOS. It will be the familiar clamshell design we’re all familiar with but will have a touch screen, full keyboard, trackpad, and you’ll be able to pull the display part away from the base (keyboard.)

This is how I believe Apple unifies its story. We have iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and in the future macOS. With macOS being the version based on the iOS App ecosystem. OS X will continue to live as the power user option in the Apple lineup.

For many people it would eliminate any confusion over the difference between OS X and iOS based App Stores, as Daniel Jalkut pointed out in a recent Twitter post.

How long before we see the new macOS?

Why, oh why, would I believe that? Well, it seems like a natural evolution of iOS. When iOS first shipped it was a tiny OS, over time it has grown to add more and more rich features, but it remains quite tiny, very secure, and built to serve a new model, an easier model. Couple that with new features of iOS 9, like split views and picture in picture, and you can see the OS moving in a new direction. We’re at the crux of applications cooperating with each other to create unique experiences. This isn’t new, far from it, but it will be reimagined on iOS. It will give us the power we’ve been looking for and maintain all the security we’ve come to love. That’s why iOS is so valuable.

Think about “the average user” of a computer. I’m not talking about super-geeks, like my brother that need those super power user features a lot of developers enjoy, I’m talking about folks like my wife. She is a gamer and uses her home MacBook to play games, surf the web, answer and create email, and play games. On occasion she will compose a document using Pages. This type of use would be fine for an iOS based device.

The iPad can also be used for day-to-day use. Federico Viticci uses an iPad as his daily driver and swears by it. I have to believe the iPad Pro will be a welcome addition to his daily workflow.

We should also keep in mind the partnership Apple formed with IBM to create solutions for the enterprise. This is how Apple rounds out its offerings for businesses. Get a third party to make the iPad attractive to businesses.

Oh, yeah, and one more thing. Tim Cook loves his iPad!

In the end could you imagine how wonderful a Mac laptop would be running a form of iOS built just for the hardware? Something that is essentially an iPad with the addition of a keyboard and possibly a mouse? It feels like the Mac could evolve in that direction.

Categories
Uncategorized

Attention

I'm the Monster.My wife claims I have A.D.D. She means it. It’s not an insult, nor do I take it that way. It’s usually directed at my continuous stream of new app ideas. Apps that will never get written. 

I’ve never been a super coder. I’m not that smart. I didn’t do well in a classroom. I loved math, but not enough to be obsessed with it and continue to learn more after trigonometry —which I can no longer do. I got into computers because I was obsessed with making them do stuff. To this day I still love making them do stuff and I’m continuing to learn. I enjoy my work. I enjoy tinkering with code in my free time. I just wish I could be super coder.

All those ideas, written down, just a bunch of bits, rotting. I have a couple apps in the iOS App Store. One I built for my brother (RxCalc), with his help, see the math comment above, and one I built for myself (Arrgly) and put in the store for grins.

I have one new idea I would like to work on, but before I do that, I’ve been workin on a long overdue update to RxCalc. I hope to drop it in the store when the iOS 9 flood gates open. It’s not much of a change, small updates here and there, but it’s solid and looks at home on iOS 7 and newer OS’es.

I have plans to add In-App purchase to it in a future release. It’s been free for a few years now and I’d like to try to make some money back but at the same time want to keep it free. To that end all new features will be available via IAP.

We’ll see how it goes.

Categories
Apple

Wall Street is Bizarro World

Me Wall StreetMarket Watch [hat tip: Daring Fireball]: “The expected iPhone 6s so far sounds mostly like an incremental update, which could lead fewer users to upgrade. Jordan Edelson, founder and chief executive of Appetizer Mobile, believes that the new iPhones will have the same chassis as the current iPhone 6 models, with more memory, a better 12-megapixel camera and battery life improvements.”

The idea that Wall Street is Bizarro World holds true for any company, not just Apple. In this case Apple has a track record of releasing an updated design of the iPhone followed the next year by the same design with upgraded specifications that include the letter S following the version number. E.G. 6 followed by 6S. My point is, this should not be new to anyone following Apple. This pattern is not new.

I think it’s only reasonable to expect Apple’s run of year-over-year unit sales to drop off at some point. How can you expect those numbers to continue to climb? So maybe they won’t sell 183 million iPhones in the next fiscal year. They’re definitely not doomed.

The headline of the Market Watch article is click bait, pure and simple. I clicked the link, not because I believe it, but because it’s so ridiculous I had to read what the “experts” were saying.

The title is accurate in a way — “Don’t expect iPhone 6S to save Apple” — because Apple doesn’t need saving.

Categories
#twitter

Open the Twitter API

A wonderful bouquet of flowers.
Twitter has been in the tech news a lot lately. They have a temporary CEO, Wall Street isn’t happy with their performance — I’d argue Wall Street is its own problem — and they still don’t allow developers to create the applications they’d really like to create.

Of those problems I believe the one that needs solving first is the developer issue. It’s the easiest to fix and it would allow Twitter to focus on figuring out what the heart and soul of Twitter really is; is it a marketing site, a place to follow the rich and famous, or a real time communication technology?

Opening up the API would allow the developer community to solve problems Twitter isn’t willing to solve. We all know mobile is king, so they need good mobile applications, but developer are also willing to create unique desktop applications. E.G. Under Twitter the Mac client has languished as well as third-party client Twitterrific. In the case of Twitterrific it is because of Twitter’s draconian limits of 100,000 tokens per application. If Twitter would remove these restrictions they would allow thousands of digital flowers to bloom.

I’m not Kim Kardashian, so this request will definitely fall on deaf ears, but please, Jack, open up the Twitter API.

Categories
Apple

Ranking My Apple Devices

I’ve been meaning to write this, as well as many other things, for some time. 

Back on Father’s Day my wife and our girls gifted me with an Apple Watch [Darth Vader model; black on black]. It was quite a surprise and I must say I’m thrilled to have this little piece of tech. 

First a little about the watch, then I’ll get to my Apple Device rankings by need of importance to me.

The Apple Watch, like everything else Apple, is beautifully designed. I’ve told many people I would not have spent $400 on this device for myself. It’s nice, but it’s something I’d feel guilty about buying for myself. Hey, $400 can be used to solve a lot of other problems. I was thinking id buy a 1.0 Watch when the 2.0 version came out and I could get the old one for $99. Keep that in mind if you want one of these and can handle a year old model — not that it will happen, but you never know.

Now that I’ve had the watch for a while I know I’m definitely not the target audience. It feels like the watch is for people obsessed with notifications. It’s for a younger generation, the millennials. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to own one, but I don’t take full advantage of it. I use it for five things.

  1. The Time – it’s a great looking watch!
  2. Message taps – I no longer miss text messages from my wife. This is actually a big deal.
  3. Phone taps – See #2. Missed phone calls are a thing of the past.
  4. Activity – I didn’t think I’d use this feature. Turns out I like it. It reminds me to get off my butt from time to time. That’s good.
  5. Slack – This is the one work related notification I allow to come through, but only if a message is directed at me, which is quite rare.

I have a bunch of apps on the watch I could probably remove at this point because I just don’t use them. In fact, I think the only other app I’ve used from time to time is blueHula’s Beer Timer.

Get your tools!On to the original intent of this post. Here’s how the four Apple devices I own rank in my life. Most important to least important.

  1. iPhone – To call this a phone is such a misnomer. It’s a computer in your pocket with a phone app. Seriously powerful and darned useful in everyday life. I’m composing this post on it.
  2. MacBook Pro – It’s almost a toss up between the phone and the laptop which should hold the number one spot. I use a MacBook every day to work on iOS Apps and I love the hardware and OS.
  3. iPad Mini – The distance between spot two and three is huge. I still use a first generation iPad Mini and I love it. I believe the Mini is the perfect size for a tablet. I use mine on the weekends to read my RSS feeds(Reeder), stuff I’ve stashed away in Pocket and Readibility, read Medium, and Twitter(Twitterrific). All using native device apps.
  4. Watch – Beautifully designed and a fine watch.

If push came to shove I could easily give up the iPad Mini and the Watch. In fact my Mini is on permanent loan to our youngest daughter so she can experiment with FiftyThree’s awesome Paper and Pencil.

That’s it. Opinions may vary. I’m still an Apple Fanboy and I can’t see that changing.

Categories
Politics

January 2017

It’s late. Inauguration Day is over as Donald Trump steps into a dark Oval Office and peers out frosty windows into the cold D.C. night.

He crosses the room, approaching The Resolute desk. Within feet of the desk he hears a creak as the large chair behind the desk turns.

A smiling Hillary Rodham Clinton looks at him and says “Thanks, Donald, I owe you.”

Fade to black.

Categories
Microsoft Windows

OneDrive flaw in Windows 10

Jerry Fahrni: “However, I can see all OneDrive content on each machine regardless of setting; file and folder names appear in online-only status. This all disappeared with the Windows 10 update. Now you have to pick which folders you wish to sync, and if you don’t sync them they don’t show up in your folder structure. That really ticks me off. That was the best feature of OneDrive. Without it there’s no reason to continue using it. Why would Microsoft remove such a useful feature? It defies logic.”

Jerry is not the only person disappointed with this change Paul Thurrott mention this flaw a few weeks back on Windows Weekly. hopefully Microsoft will follow up with a nice patch to repair this regression.

As a software developer we have to deal with tough choices like this to make sure we ship a stable product on time. As bad as this omission feels it was probably done for the sake of shipping. With Windows 10 the idea is to patch the OS often, as a service. We will see how well this plays out, but this feels like a good candidate for patching sooner rather than later.

Categories
Apple

Don Melton on Debug 69

I was hoping we’d hear from Don Melton on the idea that Safari is the new IE and he didn’t disappoint. For those that don’t know Don is the man that started the WebKit and Safari projects at Apple. He’s also a former Netscape developer so he’s been around the web and web browsers for a very long time. If you have some time go listen to Debug 69, it’s a bit explicit, Don like to drop the F-bomb, but it’s also very informative.

Two things stood out about how the Safari team approaches development of new things. They really care about security and battery life, since mobile is now king. It’s apparent they introduce features quite a bit more slowly than Google. That fact goes a long way to explaining why Google forked WebKit to create the Blink project. They wanted to move faster and felt held back by Apple’s WebKit team.

UPDATE: 7/25/2015 – I sent a link to Mr. Melton via Twitter and he graciously took the time to come read this post, which I really appreciate. Afterward he provided some excellent feedback. Here’s a correction to the statement above:

Something I’ve been an advocate for is the implementation of the ECMA CLI in all web browsers. It was interesting to hear Don talk about the idea of Web Assembly, which is the new push to make languages that convert down to JavaScript so you can write in multiple languages on the web (which is why I’m a fan of a CLI implementation, we could have C# on in the browser, nifty.) Don’s take made me reevaluate my position. Why not let websites be websites and let applications be applications? Both need HTTP and the web. I’m a fan of web services and that is definitely the new backbone of any application development today. A lot of applications, be it in the browser, or native, depend on web services to do their job. The application I work on daily is no exception. At Agrian we have a web application and a native iOS App backed by a web service. The native application was created because Agrian wanted to create the best user experience they possibly could, not to mention provide a great offline experience. Our application is used by farmers that are often out in the country side, and often without connectivity. Changes are cached and synchronized when the farmer has a connection. It provides a good experience all thanks to the ability to save while offline and push changes to our web service when the time is right. Wow, sorry, went off the rails there.

The point is, I’m not sure making the web browser do everything you can do on the desktop is the right thing to do. Let the web be the web. If you want to do a native application embrace the platform and do the best possible job you can for your users. This holds true for Android or iOS. Both provide great SDK’s built to take full advantage of the platform.

Go forth and create.

Categories
Potter

More Harry Potter? Yes please!

Harry Potter, year five/Film: “Personally, I feel like the best way to have more stories in the Harry Potter universe, beyond Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, is to do a prequel franchise focusing on the original Order of the Phoenix, with James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black and more fighting Voldemort the first time. Sure, we know how it ends with Voldemort falling due to The Boy Who Lived, but we don’t know about the battle before that. I’m not saying that we need those prequels, but I wouldn’t be opposed to see those stories played out.”

My wife and I were talking about this a few days ago. We would love to see a series of books from J.K. Rowling about the original Order of the Phoenix. That would be amazing.