So I decided to sing into it and give it a run for its money.  I was singing Trey Anastasio’s “Host Across the Potomac,” whose chorus is “The time has come for desks and chairs to be elevated.“  I sang the line several times, annunciating a bit more with each line, and here are the results:

• The time has come for desk send JS to be a little David
• The time has come by best chance to be added day babe
• The time has come for dad send chance to be added day again
• The time has come for desk and chairs to be inundated

Gotta love it; four times sung, four totally different results.

The moral of the story is: Dragon is great for dictation, but not so much for transcribing singing.

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.”

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 am the owner of many generations of Apple products. From iBooks to Macbook Pros, Macbooks to multiple iMacs, multiple Airport Extremes, Airport Express, AppleTV, every generation of iPhone, three iPods, iWork, iLife, OS X and much more, we’ve owned and paid for it all. I also rely heavily on the incredibly applications that run on OS X, gorgeous and useful as ever.

I have personally convinced at least 10 people to switch to AT&T to the iPhone. I’ve convinced dozens to switch from PC to Mac. I can provide names if prompted.

However, given the treatment of iPhone app developers recently, from Darkslide^[1] to Google^[2] to the recent Google Voice fiasco^[3][4], and the unnecessary lockdown of all of your platforms, I was forced not only to advocate for the increasing wave of jailbreakers, but also to make a startling decision: I’m kicking the Apple habit.

Your treatment of developers sucks. Your treatment of your users sucks. Your treatment of the general public sucks. I’m over it. I’m not buying any more of your products until I see a change. You don’t deserve your customers respect anymore. You still make the best products, but I’m not spending, or encouraging anyone else to spend, another dime with your company until you respect your ecosystem.

OS X only exists because quality developers wrote XNU, Darwin, and BSD. You benefit from that. If those people were treated the way you treat your developers, you’d have no core platform.

I’m anxiously awaiting your next move.

[1] http://speirs.org/2008/09/12/app-store-im-out/
[2] http://www.osnews.com/story/21903/Apple_Rejects_Official_Google_Voice_iPhone_App
[3] http://www.seankovacs.com/index.php/2009/07/gv-mobile-is-getting-pulled-from-app-store/
[4] http://www.riverturn.com/blog/?p=455

Wireless Sync

Apple is the king of “no wires.”  They did everything wireless first.  But the iPhone still needs a wire to sync.  They have the perfect syncing technology already: Bluetooth.  Why not permit syncing over Bluetooth? I don’t any limitations on why you can’t sync over wifi, let alone Bluetooth.  This seems like a no-brainer.

New Springboard

How we’ve made it to 3.0 without a better way to manage our apps, without even folders, is a mystery. It’s imperative, especially as iPhone owners install more and more apps, that there is a better way to manage and access apps. It’s time for a re-thought Springboard.

File Management

Seems awfully odd that I carry 8GB of disk space on my hip but can’t carry a single document without emailing it to myself.  It’s time to permit some storage of files on the device.  Older iPods allowed “disk use,” why can’t the iPhone? And if not, at least a manner of loading the files through iTunes would be appreciated.

Background Apps

The chants have been loud and plentiful. We want to run apps in the background. It’s not fair to say it will chip into battery life: we understand that. Let us run down our own devices as we wish, okay?

It’s about time the most amazing and groundbreaking mobile device ever had a proper hands-free solution.

I called iPhone OS 3.0 a few months ago.  I said we should expect the next release of iPhone firmware to be a revamped version 3.0.  I still feel fairly confident in my predictions: I still think we’ll see cut-copy-and-paste, better app management, and better enterprise management.

I’m still convinced that we will not see MMS, bluetooth sync, or video, although I’ll be very happy to be wrong on all three fronts.  I’d also like to see wifi and bluetooth sync, voice dial, and — here’s a novel idea — a faster phone app, but I’m cautiously optimistic.  I’m not expecting any of those, but again, would welcome them warmly.

I don’t expect to actually see firmware 3.0 until late spring or early summer, but I suspect we’ll have a nice overview of what to expect by the end of next Tuesday.

Someone, sometime, is going to sue.  And they should.  Apple is best of breed in most markets they have their toes, but they are really starting to behave pretty badly.

Fart for Free

I can now report the results.

I find fart #6 to be funniest. Each time I listen to it, I continue to laugh, unlike some of the others, which are funny the first time but no longer surprising or funny thereafter. 1 is good, a simple pop, but 6 continues to make everyone laugh.

But the science part of it is thus: will a 15 month old, who doesn’t speak any real English, whose comprehension is limited to just a few short syllables, find any fart funny at all?

The answer is an enthusiastic yes! Jillian found fart #13 to the funniest, if her reaction is to be believed. She did not laugh at all at fart #1, however, she gave a good smile for #6. She cried during farts 10 and 11, which either means she didn’t find the herald blast variety funny or she was fed up with her car seat, but I’m inclined to believe the former, given that 13 led to fantastic laughter.

There you go: the most objective viewpoint, someone who, thus far is ambivalent towards farts as a whole, someone who has no preference for any particular brand of fart humor, someone who has no sense of embarrassment in this arena, a blank slate, totally unmarred by experience or shame laughed hardest at fart #13. Another great human mystery has been solved: the funniest variety of fart sound effect.

First, it’s possible that Apple simply stopped development on the iPhone. I think the likelihood of this is practically null.

The other possibility is that Apple has been working on things, but nothing is ready. In two months, we haven’t heard anything at all – there’s been no SDK update, no betas. That means either they are working slowly, or they are working on things that are taking some time.

Rewind to iPhone OS 2.0. There was supposed to be a “push” mechanism by which applications would report to Apple, and a single iPhone tether to Apple would act as the pusher for all background services. That was delayed until “October” timeframe, and has since been ignored. Or has it?

My prediction: the next version of the iPhone OS to see light of day will be iPhone OS 3.0. It will feature background notifications via Apple’s push services (which I further suspect will take between 2 and 3 months to work properly). It will feature some sort of tool for better applications management, maybe folders, as the current springboard is inelegant and cannot handle large numbers of applications. It will include copy & paste, if only to shut up the online crowds, but also because it’s necessary for a true smartphone-type device.

I think the biggest changes will be at enterprise level. The fact is, the iPhone is getting a lot of play in executive settings, and I think better management tools and business integration is a mound of cash waiting for Apple. They’ve conquered the home market, everyone I know has a damned 3G now. The business world is ripe for the taking, as Blackberries are so far behind the iPhone in features and style it’s not even funny.

What won’t be a 3.0 iPhone OS? Wi-fi and bluetooth syncing, unfortunately. There will be no voice dialing, no MMS, no Flash, no video recording.

Why? Wi-fi and Bluetooth sync seems unlikely to me. Apple did not want to allow Time Machine over Airport for some time either, possibly because of data corruption. I think the holdup here is that the SQLite databases on the phone may not be atomically updated, and therefore, an interruption in signal availability could damage the phone. Of course, this could happen with the cable too, but I think the fact that the battery would be in use may also be of concern. This is, of course, pure speculation.

Voice dial and MMS seem unlikely, because if Apple wanted to ever include these standard phone features, it seems they would have done so by now.

Flash is a third party app. It won’t be in the OS. If Apple wants to bless it, they can and would do so for 2.x.

Video recording would be unlikely largely because the camera on the iPhone sucks. So why bother, if every iPhone filmed video would be poor quality, 100% of the time? Perhaps if new hardware came out that wasn’t camera-shorted, it would be more likely, but current models, with the terrible 2mpx camera, will not produce video worth watching.

This is entirely assumption, I have no inside information. However, I think the major gap in time is suggestive of big things to come.

Apple needs to stop dicking around with these updates. Stop adding in things that are completely superfluous, and focus on the core functions: phone, SMS, email. Give us individual SMS timestamps and deleting, a unified email inbox, lock screen email notifications, more reliable email fetch, user profiles (for sounds and network settings), etc.

CrzyCanuck72, on forums.macrumors.com, discussing iPhone firmware version 2.2

I should start by saying that MMS, or lack thereof, is the one things that bugs the crap out of me on the iPhone.  I’ve detailed before how useless and silly viewmymessage.com is. I can’t believe it’s not even something that can be accessed via a clicked URL.   But I don’t think the iPhone will ever have true MMS.  If Steve Jobs wanted MMS on the iPhone, it would be here by now.  No, they are phasing it out, which is arguably good in the long run, but at the expense of its usefulness today.  I don’t mind paying the extra few pennies each month for MMS.  Even just to receive the messages, but not send them.  But stop making the decision for me. 

I hate to say that the iPhone, a device that literally converted me from a mobile phone carrier to a smart phone carrier, as someone who sold more of these puppies in the last year than most Apple employees, is doing more to turn me off to Apple than anything else.  The iPhone and AppleTV both have let me down.  A lot.  So much so that even though I recently bought a new iMac (the 24″), I considered a nice new PC at a fraction of the cost, as prep for Windows 7, which looks to be really cool.  

Apple’s arrogance and inability to listen to its customers didn’t matter nearly as much when they were a tiny niche company.  But they play in the big leagues now, and I suspect that now that they have serious market share in the laptop and education market, they will find a mass defection in a few years as people start to get wise to their control tactics.  

I find the new iPhone firmware, even before I get my hands on it, a let down.  My iPhone can’t do what phones from 3 years before the iPhone existed does without sweating.   If Apple doesn’t start delivering, I suspect that the odds are very high that by the end of 2010 I’ll be carry an Android powered phone.