Sayeth Steve Jobs:

You know, there?s a porn store for Android. Anyone can download them. You can, your kids can. That?s just not a place we want to go.

But then, there’s this:

What is that? It’s the Porn Store for iPhone, aka “The App Store.” Get real. Apples doesn’t want you to run Apps because they want full control of the revenue the iPhone generates downstream. That’s it. It’s not about privacy, it’s not about children, it’s not about anything other than corporate strategy. And I predict it WILL come back to bite Apple in the butt.

Then there’s the now infamous section of the iPhone 4.0 SDK that bans the use of non-native apps on the iPhone.  But let’s get real, shall we? As Gruber said, this is about only one thing: once the apps are portable, the device lock-in is compromised.  It’s not about multi-tasking, although, there’s probably truth in that, it’s not about new APIs, although, there’s probably truth in that too.  But it’s about corporate strategy: keep people on Apple products in the Apple ecosystem.

Let’s not forget that Adobe has built its CS5 master suite with a new feature it’s been proudly touting: the ability to compile Flash apps as iPhone binaries.  So they are the ones with egg on their face since that feature is simply pointless now.

If I were Adobe, after the peak of sales after the release of CS5, I’d announce that it’s the last Adobe suite to be released for Mac.  No more Photoshop, no more Lightroom, no more Illustrator.  Maybe even cut off Adobe Air.  You could pretty rapidly destroy the enterprise presence for Apple, as people decide if they want to keep working on Macs, given the lack of true enterprise quality tools.   It would be an interesting corporate strategy. (Update: They say nope.)

If I were Apple, I wouldn’t worry too much.  Businesses are now a small subset of Apple users, who are, more and more, college students and home users.  And those users would rather buy iWork, and maybe a few more apps Apple wasn’t producing (such as Office or Pixelmator).  No big loss, right? Or is it…?

Once Apple loses the “it’s better for graphics” thing, then it might be labelled “not for serious work.”  Microsoft runs some ads pushing a new image: Macs are okay for home use, but you need Windows to do any real work.  And then “real workers” start switching back to Windows at home.  Maybe.  But it would make for a grand corporate strategy.

It’s interesting that once again, the computing landscape is full of action.  I can’t wait to see how Apple behaves in the next few years.  It may well deliver some of the best software ever.  Then again, soon enough, I might be using Windows 8, an Android phone, and an HP Slate. Either way, the future is exciting.

Yesterday, after the Apple presentation “Come See Our Latest Creation,” geeks and bloggers worldwide took to their medium of choice to complain about the underwhelming iPad and its impending failure. I’ve seen all sorts of arguments for why this device will fail, but I’m convinced that this device is going to make them all red in the face, and soon.

The problem here, as is often the case, is that this device is not built for geeks. In truth, the iPhone isn’t either. But it’s an undeniable success, largely because it solves most of the problems people have with computing interfaces: single vs double click, right click vs left click, app install, the HFS, etc. And the iPad will be a huge success too. Let’s take a deeper look.

The biggest complaint heard round the world is the lack of multi-tasking. Let’s be straight about this: that’s a friggin’ software issue! It’s widely rumored that some sort of light multi-tasking is part of iPhone OS 4.0, we know the demo’ed iPad was running 3.2 beta. So it’s fair to expect that this could come in a future update. But if it doesn’t, it’s still fixable if Apple determines that lack thereof is a major weakness.

I’ve heard people complain about lack of Flash. I couldn’t care less about Flash. Flash is a total monkey on the shoulder of the internet. I have an iPhone, I pretty much never miss it. Every site that relies on Flash is a poorly designed site I don’t want to visit. Flash is NOT coming to iPhone OS. Here’s why, in a nutshell: there are no runtimes on the iPhone, Flash is a runtime; Apple supports only one native platform – through their own SDK; Flash is the most unstable part of OS X; and most importantly, Flash is quickly gaining the reputation of being the #1 source of vulnerabilities, which Apple does NOT want to inherit. Since it’s closed source and controlled by another company, it ain’t happening, and not only don’t I care, I bet most others don’t either. And the proof? Literally millions of sites have built iPhone specific versions of their sites. With Android and WebOS both sporting compatible Webkit-based browsers, those sites are getting to be “smartphone” type sites, but people are clearly hearing the word of the future: you can’t depend on a plugin for the core of your site.

Third largest complaint we hear is that people could just buy a laptop. Sure, you could, but the iPad is a supplement. I have a 24″ iMac and it sits in my office. I don’t always want to get up to check my email, browse Google Reader, or fool around on the web. It’s a great lightweight extension of my Mac. I don’t need a whole new desktop with a whole new library of data in iLife. I don’t want a big old laptop. With the laptop, I hold the keyboard portion, and inevitably, my kid comes up and pulls on the lid which bends back out of my way. It gets 4 hours of life if we’re lucky, so it’s always plugged in. It’s pretty hot, so it usually rests on a cushion or a laptop pillow. The iPad is light, one piece that can be aligned to my liking, and has a much better battery. It’s a near perfect supplement to my current computer, because it works as an EXTENSION of my current Mac, not in addition to.

Next up is the bezel. Yes, people are complaining about the border around the screen. Apparently, these ninnies would prefer to grip their movie player with their fingers overlapping the content. This one is too stupid to address seriously.

I’m sad to say that the biggest yammering I’ve heard around town is that “Apple fanboys will slurp this up”, as if anyone who wants one is too lovedrunk to think clearly. This arrogant tenant is especially silly given that the iPhone is pretty much an iPad nano plus a phone. If you just wanted a phone, there are much better choices than the iPhone. Flip phones last for days or weeks without a charge and certainly connect more reliably, but people wanted iPhones. Does this sentiment extend to ALL of them? I suppose the 21 million active iPhone users are all blind Apple loyalists as well?

Some people have said, based on real experience, that this is a 1.0 product, they’ll wait for the revision. But to me, this one is just ignoring history. The old computer catch 22 is “this will be outdated in 6 months.” That’s still true. The next revision will always be better. But the iPad is not a rev 1 product, it’s a rev 4 product. It’s an evolution of the iPhone. Yes, it has a new chip, but so did the 3Gs. The 3G had the first 3G antenna. Every rev has a first generation of something, but this is obviously a revision (maybe a big one, but still a point release) of existing hardware.

HDMI out? Seriously? Is there ANY “average joe” who’s going to use this? I think a TV out connector is probably fine for most that require the iPad to be a portable movie player. You have to remember that Apple doesn’t – and has no history of – catering to geeks when they can cater to the masses. The device is a device “for everyone”, and that usually means leading edge technologies are not included and geeks are disappointed.

I’ve heard quite a few people sharing how a netbook is so much cheaper, yadda yadda yadda. Puh-lease. But these are facts: virtually every netbook I’ve used is SLOW SLOW SLOW. They almost always run either XP – which is not only old and clumsy on a tiny screen, but has a sordid history of becoming slow and broken for most users, or Ubuntu, which is a total mystery to the average guy, and also has an even more complex install system. Netbooks have tiny screens and ALL of the same problems and confusions that traditional computers have had when it comes to most users. My mother still names documents with additional underscores so they move to the front of the folder list, and she has no idea where she saves anything… My Docs, Desktop, root of C, etc. I see this all the time, people can’t manage a traditional install, that’s why they need geeks. Except… they don’t with the iPhone, and they won’t with the iPad. The netbook is a joke compared to an iPad. You show me an HP Slate, I’ll show you an LG Voyager or some other would be “iPhone Killer”. Almost everyone’s response to the iPad is already an also-ran, because it will most likely be based on Windows or Linux, and it will almost certainly fail where the iPhone OS has already succeeded. I think the only hope here is that Android evolves over the next few years at this continued rapid pace.

Another complaint being tossed around is the lack of a physical keyboard. Are we seriously still addressing this? Did the lack of physical keyboard stop the iPhone from selling something like 75 million units? No. Because this device is all about touch, and the virtual keyboard is going to be just fine, just like it is on the iPhone for the vast majority of people who use it. After 20 minutes of using the iPhone keyboard, I was comfortable and much more accurate. I’m sure the iPad will be the same way. Yes, software like Pages seems odd without a keyboard. I suspect it’s more for viewing and quick editing than it is for full creation. It’s a supplementary device, not a full on computer. Non-issue.

There are definitely some legitimate complaints against the iPad.

1. At 1024×768, the resolution, and aspect ratio, leave me wanting more. Widescreen videos will require zoom or letterboxing, which means I lose content or real estate. Boo.
2. The name iPad is horrible. If I have an accent, iPod and iPad might sound the same.
3. Still no wireless syncing!?
4. No SD slot for media? The “shared directory” is a nice concept, it could show up like the camera does as mountable file storage. I hope it’s writable, but I bet it’s not. Native SD slot would have been nice.
5. No camera. I’m not sure I really care about a camera, per se, but I certainly think the ability to video chat would have been an incredible sales point for this device.
6. Lack of format variety. I can’t believe Apple can’t add support for AVIs and MPGs to the iPhone, iPad, AppleTV, and iTunes. Also, I don’t get why Apple doesn’t just add FLAC support to iTunes.

The biggest and most valid complaint is that once again, we’re locked into the arbitrary and closed App Store. This is, by far and away, the most legitimate complaint. But, we live in a capitalist world, and the best of breed will succeed. People are generally okay with this. Once again, the masses have accepted something less than stellar. People will jailbreak their iPad the same way we’ve jailbroken our iPhones, and once again, we’ll be a small group in a large pool of users. This practice by Apple is horrible, and I predict it will eventually lead to a Microsoft IE style lawsuit that requires Apple to open up not just the App Store, but maybe even the iTunes Store as a whole to competition (meaning a separate store on the device that can manage apps, or another way to get apps on the phone without going through Apple).

That said, I’ll likely be getting an iPad at some point. It’s a fantastic complement to the big iMac in another room, an extension of my data, and a great surfing device. The 16GB is plenty for me now (The 64 GB would cover my entire MP3 and iPhoto libraries, but not with enough growth space, so the 128 may be the magic point for me), but I’ll probably want the 3G just so the device isn’t confined to my living room 100% of the time.

This is all my opinion. No question about that. But some of it is steeped in fact. Geeks looking for a geek friendly device were bound to be let down. Those suggesting that the iPad can’t meet someone’s needs unless they are drinking the Apple Kool-Aid are high on their own pompousness. And those who don’t want one, well.. they’re entitled to their own opinion and can pass on this device. But those who suggest this is going to be a failure… check back with me in 18 months. My money is that I’ll be the one saying “Toldja so.”

Thank you, John Resig. Because of you, I’m learning about Javascript the way Andy Gadiel taught me HTML. In the days before server-side scripting, I learned my first bits of HTML largely by viewing the source of Andy Gadiel’s Phish page (which, for some reason, remains largely unchanged since ~1997).  By reading Gadiel’s HTML, I slowly pieced together my own understanding of HTML.  It was Joe Burns’ fantastic Javascript Goodies that first had me dipping my n00b fingers into client side active scripting.  I picked up CSS all over the web.

Resig’s jQuery is so powerful and so easy that even with basic knowledge of CSS and Javascript, anyone can be a virtual scripting master.  It’s so easy, that I’ve slacked on learning about javascript objects, inheritance, closures, anonymous functions, prototypes, and scores of  other Javascript staples that I should’ve long since mastered.   I just discovered John’s new web app, cleverly titled “Learning Advanced Javascript“, and so far, so good!

I wrote this myself and understand why it works, which is much more than I could say yesterday.

var ninja = {
	walk: function(steps,turn) {
		toDo = 'Walking '+steps+' steps forward, then turning '+turn;
		return this;
	  },
	star: function(action,distance) {
		toDo = toDo+' '+action+'ing star '+distance+' feet'; return this;
	  },
	then: function() {
		toDo = toDo+', then '; return this;
	},
	doIt: function() {
		log(toDo);
	}
}
ninja.walk('7','south').then().star('throw','50').doIt();

Output:

> Walking 7 steps forward, then turning south, then throwing star 50 feet

It’s clear to me – and has been for some time – that the future of the web, for better or for worse, rests heavily on the mighty shoulders of client side scripting.   Building on powerful, extensible frameworks like jQuery and MooTools, the next generation of web apps is sure to compete with the desktop.  The ability to understand how to utilize the frameworks when necessary and hack together powerful scriptlets for other purposes seems essential to success in the future web. I know I’ll be investing in “Secrets of a Javascript Ninja” just as a result of this tutorial.

I’ve kind of come around on Vista.  Although it was SO VERY painful to set up and get everything installed, that was long ago, most programs are now compatible, and I’ve come to appreciate some of the subtleties of the OS.  While there are some pieces that are just the pinnacle of stupidity (like the file open dialog), most pieces just make XP look so aged and cartoony in comparison.  As a result, I’m on Vista at work until I have 7 in hand.  But this week, I received an error that just makes me laugh.  What’s worse is that this problem can found all over Google, lots of people get it, and no one has a definitive fix.  I rarely use this meme, but this is an OS #FAIL.

click the picture for a larger version

At Kroc’s request, I’m compiling a list of what Apple will have to do to win me back.  It’s not a long list, and it may not be exhaustive (meaning I may arbitrarily add more to it), but here goes:

1. It’s time to regulate App Store approval process.  Consistency and transparency needs to be key.  I’m a web developer and I participate in the tech community.  To see Cocoa developers get screwed after spending all their time, energy, and capital writing an app only to be unceremoniously, silently rejected with no explanation is to see pure evil.  This is pretty much my main request.
2. However, I’m tired of the iPhone being shackled.  Unlike Eugenia, I don’t have specific requests like enabling EDGE on Pay-As-You-Go phones, but I’m tired of the iPhone being a closed platform.  I do not believe in “it’s Apple’s playground, if you don’t like it, go somewhere else.”  It’s my device. I bought it, I own it.  I want to theme my phone.  I want to run background apps.  And I sure as hell don’t need Apple telling me which apps are not suitable for me to run (outside of those that actually do harm to my phone and/or me, e.g. malware, spyware). It’s time to open the private APIs to the public, duplicate functionality or not.

That’s it.  I maintain that OS X is the best desktop environment today.  I *love* my Mac and I love how integrated and “at home” I feel with it.  I don’t want to give it up.  I certainly don’t want to go back to Vista (although 7 is nice so far) or start running Ubuntu or Fedora on my iMac.

I think OS X/iLife and the iTunes/iPhone combos are awesome.    I think the Cocoa frameworks are just genius, and they inspire programmers to write beautiful and slick applications rapidly.  I want Apple to do the right thing.

Just for comparison, I have nothing but warm feelings about Amazon.com, despite some issues people have had with them. See how Jeff Bezos stepped up and took personal responsibility for a recent fiasco.  That’s how a CEO should behave.  A big company I respect.  I trust and respect Google.  But Apple leaves me with a metallic taste in my mouth that I know isn’t good.

I hope things change, but I’m not holding my breath.  Then again, stranger things have happened.

I got thinking today, as I near roll out of an internal helpdesk app heavily using jQuery, why we bother to degrade our scripts so they work without javascript. I get it: some people have javascript disabled in their browser… but my question is this: so what?

Javascript is a core part of web experience today.  In fact, I’d say that, on the desktop in the full browser front, if your browser doesn’t support at least HTML 4, javascript, and CSS 2, you’re not playing with the right tools.  After all, we expect that people can parse HTML, why not expect that javascript is a pre-requisite for web usage?

Some of us go to great pains to make sure our sites work should a user have javascript disabled.  But I’m actually considering the opposite: hiding certain critical elements if you don’t have javascript enabled to ensure that each visitor is on an even playing field.  Wrapping submit buttons in jQuery’s append() method, submitting data on click(), and plentifully exchanging JSON data via AJAX throughout ought to properly cripple participation of those who opt out of script execution on my site.

It all comes down to this: if you want your site to reach the widest audience possible, you need to anticipate that the client may not allow you scripting capability.  Conversely, on our intranet, and maybe one day on my websites, I’m doing the opposite: if you want to use the site, you’ve got to enable javascript: if you don’t, well… your loss.

Roughly Drafted has an incredible article about why Windows 7 won’t turn Microsoft around. It’s totally accurate: Microsoft is missing the boat over and over and over again.  If I were in charge of Microsoft, here’s what I’d do:

1. I’d immediately begin a very public plan to phase out Trident and replace it with Webkit over the next two versions of IE.  I’d blog about it endlessly so everyone knows that while Trident will exist (with extended CSS and HTML 5 support, natch) in IE9, it will be a new, fully Webkit based browser by version 10.
2. Developers, developers, developers? Start bundling Python and Ruby with Windows to encourage cross platform development.
3. At the same time, it’s time to release a statement granting the freedom for developers to implement .NET on other platforms.  Fighting Mono in any sense just means more people won’t ever want to touch your tainted tech.
4. On that note, I’d start looking at free.  It’s time to start giving away Visual Studio.
5. I’d stop the artificial versioning.  Microsoft actively cripples their products.  They handicap their server OS to not recognize RAM until you shell out cash for a more expensive version.  Look at Citrix, who accomplishes this without the same aftertaste: XenServer is free, no limits.  But certain non-essential features are part of an enterprise package.
6. The cost of software is destined to approach free.  Office software is too expensive, and it’s why people are seriously looking at Google Apps and other office suites.  We’re all beginning to realize we don’t really need Excel, Outlook, and Word as much as we thought.  Once we can convert our PST files, the rest is just getting used to an alternative.

We’re witnessing the collapse of a major entity, I think, and it may take decades, but you can see the cracks now.  Zune doesn’t make money.  X-Box doesn’t make money.  Bing is never going to take any significant traffic from Google.  Windows isn’t generating the revenue it used to.  IE is less important than ever.  Office is finding its way onto fewer and fewer computers.  Linux is coming into its own.  Netbooks will almost certainly, in time, be owned by Chrome or something like it.  Windows Mobile is stale and unpopular on phones today with no suggestion that it will ever be able to compete with iPhone OS, Android, WebOS, or Blackberry OS.

Windows 7 is shaping up nicely; my department at work is enjoying our testing and can’t wait to deploy it.  But that doesn’t mean we’ll make a push to deploy it, we’ll just let it leak in.  And so will many others, most likely.

If you look around carefully, you’ll see the tectonic plates of technology shifting, as slowly as they always have, but as surely as they’ve ever been . Don’t miss it: what will one day be an exciting history is unfolding before us.