Tag: technology

Paradox looks for advice:

I have a question. What type of database software would you and the Ilk recomend for a small business? The business will be auto repair. The database entities would be customers and invoices. Atributes would be items like invoce number and car make and model etc.

All I have to say is that’s a good business in this economy. But I know nothing about databases, so if anyone has anything intelligent to offer on the subject, please do so.

Unsurprisingly, Apple takes the fascistic approach to information about the iPhone’s quality problems:

Consumer Reports, the non-profit magazine, on Monday published a review online that stated it had tested three iPhone 4s in controlled settings and found that touching the lower left corner “can significantly degrade” the signal, causing dropped calls. Apple deleted references in several online discussions to the consumer group’s online posting, leading VentureBeat and investment blogs to pounce on what they described as censorship in the Apple-hosted forums. Apple declined to comment on the forum issue; it has previously intervened to eliminate records of criticism on other topics….

Apple had earlier fanned the flames by denying there was any reception problem. It originally said the real culprit was software that displayed a higher number of “bars” than appropriate, indicating greater signal strength than was warranted. Touching the left corner therefore showed a precipitous drop in connectivity instead of a minor pullback, Apple said, and it promised to fix the display issue with a software patch.

I can sympathize with Apple’s irritation in having to deal with this mess, but not their response. After shipping our new product, our customers discovered three hardware problems, which were primarily the result of the factory not following the design closely enough. Not our fault, but definitely our responsibility. We immediately reported these problems on our site and expect to be able to announce how we plan to resolve everything for our customers to their satisfaction by the end of this week.

Apple, on the other hand, prefers to obfuscate and deny. Perhaps that’s part of what makes them a great and successful company, but I don’t agree with that support strategy any more than I agree with their technofascist approach to design.

Today, you must genuflect before Markku, King of the Coders. In case you are interested, we have released the source code under the LGPLv3. And for the gamers, power CAD users, and Photoshop wizards, you have three more days to score the 20% discount.

FYI: the online store is now open, but since we’re starting to ship the first preorders on Monday, we’re replacing the promised pre-order discount with a 20% early adopter discount that is valid until July 4th. We have already sold nearly half our initial production run, so don’t hesitate to order if you’re interested getting your hands on “The King of All Computer Mice” and its 3,072 simultaneous commands.

More technofascismo from Apple:

Apple Inc. is now collecting the “precise,” “real-time geographic location” of its users’ iPhones, iPads and computers. In an updated version of its privacy policy, the company added a paragraph noting that once users agree, Apple and unspecified “partners and licensees” may collect and store user location data.

When users attempt to download apps or media from the iTunes store, they are prompted to agree to the new terms and conditions. Until they agree, they cannot download anything through the store.

I now await with no little interest hearing the Macintossers explain how all of this is wonderful and to the great benefit of Apple’s cool, creative and totally unique customers. Seriously, what does Apple have to do to convince you that they’re every bit as evil as Microsoft and more, start making batteries from the blood of aborted Chinese girls? Batteries that you can’t replace!

Oh, wait, they already did that.

It’s still a bad idea:

Apple has suffered another embarrassment. A security breach has exposed iPad owners including dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians. They—and every other buyer of the wireless-enabled tablet—could be vulnerable to spam marketing and malicious hacking.

The breach, which comes just weeks after an Apple employee lost an iPhone prototype in a bar, exposed the most exclusive email list on the planet, a collection of early-adopter iPad 3G subscribers that includes thousands of A-listers in finance, politics and media, from New York Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson to Diane Sawyer of ABC News to film mogul Harvey Weinstein to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It even appears that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s information was compromised.

It doesn’t stop there. According to the data we were given by the web security group that exploited vulnerabilities on the AT&T network, we believe 114,000 user accounts have been compromised, although it’s possible that confidential information about every iPad 3G owner in the U.S. has been exposed.

Yes, yes, this is certainly amusing. Of course, all Apple has to do to settle down the Macintossers is run a few hipster commercials featuring indy music about how very cool and awesome and not-at-all lame it is to get your device hacked.

A last call to the modemakers. If you have any mode layouts in mind, you need to get them in now if you want them to go out in the initial release. Here’s a link to the spreadsheet template. Send them in tomorrow, please.
I’d particularly like layouts for AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max, the new Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft Outlook/Exchange, and the latest version of Opera since I don’t use any of those applications.

Engadget still doesn’t quite grok the fullness of the mouse, but they don’t actually hate it any longer. In fact, they even went so far to describe it as “the most advanced mouse we’ve ever seen.” Despite the caveats and minor misconceptions, I’m quite pleased with the review. And the review unit is a prototype, btw, so the plastic on the production units is completely different.

If you’re interested in creating a mode for our little technology project, now is the time to fill out the spreadsheet and send it in to us. That will let us put it in the box for everyone. We’re up to 72 modes now and we want to have well over 100, so if you are an aficionado of a game or application that is not on the list, don’t hesitate to dive in.

Also, a reader would like everyone to know that if they are in need of “the services of a good Access/SQL database geek”, he is available. Shoot me an email if you’re in the market for one. It’s not my purpose to establish a classified section here – although that’s not the worst idea – but one must reward initiative. Although I suppose Beau is already engaged with human trafficking matchmaking, so I suppose anything is possible.

You can’t say I didn’t warn you about Apple’s ideological evil. Adobe’s Flash Blogger goes off:

By now you have surely heard about the new iPhone 4.0 SDK language that appears to make creating applications in any non-Apple-approved languages a violation of terms. Obviously Adobe is looking into this wording carefully so I will not comment any further until there is an official conclusion.

[Sentence regarding Apple’s intentions redacted at request from Adobe]. This has nothing to do whatsoever with bringing the Flash player to Apple’s devices. That is a separate discussion entirely. What they are saying is that they won’t allow applications onto their marketplace solely because of what language was originally used to create them. This is a frightening move that has no rational defense other than wanting tyrannical control over developers and more importantly, wanting to use developers as pawns in their crusade against Adobe….

Speaking purely for myself, I would look to make it clear what is going through my mind at the moment. Go screw yourself Apple.

Now, I disdain Apple products anyhow, since I despise their attempt to exert control over the way their users are permitted to use their hardware. I don’t develop for them except as an afterthought since it’s neither my business nor my concern what hardware and software any of our users happen to use; that’s why we will soon have hundreds of custom modes available for download that are designed specifically for whatever bizarre purpose our users have in mind. But if I was an Apple software developer, I would have to be very inexperienced indeed not to see the writing on the wall. Apple is now a console system, not a PC, so it won’t be long before they are imitating Nintendo and charging the developer a larger share per unit for the right to sell something developed for their platform than the developer makes himself.

NB: Before you leap to the wrong conclusion, I am most certainly NOT a fan of Flash. I think it is a very effective way to ruin the utility of a useful website and have it turned off in Firefox by default. But that doesn’t excuse Apple’s actions here.