Atom Text Editor

So I am a bit slow on noticing this announcement but earlier this month the Atom Text Editor that the guys at GitHub have been working on was open sourced. Now this has been my favorite editor for the Mac since I got into the beta for it and so far is better than most text editors I have used. The one editor that would be compared to it is Sublime Text which I think Atom beats very easily for two reasons.

First, Atom has an actual screen for settings. This is one of my biggest issues with sublime the fact that is uses a text file as its settings. Sorry not user-friendly. Instead Atom has a well thought out settings GUI and includes an amazing package manager. It even has a way for the packages (plugins and themes) to tell you shortcuts they have. Now I have only use sublime lightly so maybe it has some of these things buried but I cannot stand Sublime Text long enough to use it whereas I have enjoyed Atom every time. (even the old version which caused my fan to run on my MacBook).

Second, they licensed it under the MIT license. Now this is even more an opinion then the first. Personally I love the openness of the MIT license so I am happy they went with that over GPL. It is even better then Sublime Text since they want you to pay. You would expect there to be many more features if your paying but really it’s just a plugin engine.

So if you’re using a Mac I recommend you checkout Atom at atom.io and if you’re using Windows or Linux well you can build it yourself or just wait I am sure the packages will be out soon.

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Obligitory iPad Post or Finally a true Tablet

Ok lets get something straight iPad is by far the WORST name for this device. iSlate or iTab (short of iTablet) would have worked ten times better. But the name is iPad and so we will live with it.

Now personally I love the idea of tablet computing. I have been wanting it since back in the day when Microsoft was showing it off with styluses and overlays on Windows XP. Now that seems like a good idea but most people know most PC OS’s are not designed for small screens or for touch screens. Buttons are too small and data is crammed into space to efficiently for it to work out. Also may of these devices were large and clunky. Now we see the iPad which is effectively almost exactly what a Tablet should really be. The key to a tablet is it MUST be more mobile then a laptop. Sure a laptop with a rotating screen could do the same but the key there is you have an interface which is not as mobile. Its just not easy to use Windows with a touch screen. HP has spent lots of money making custom UI’s solely to make it so their touchsmart PC’s are easier to use.

Now Apple has made that easy to use interface. But there are two major issues. One which people have brought up a bunch and is unfounded and then an oddly missing issue from the discussion.

The first issue that people seem to be way to worried about is flash support. Many people are all worried about how you just cannot get a true internet experience without this. Well I am sorry but I think I would rather wait till html5 is ubiquitous then have my mobile device be as hot as a overheated breakfast burrito. One of the biggest issue with flash is that it is to be nice UTTER CRAP. On even the most advanced computers it somehow will end up pulling 100% of a CPU core to just show a YouTube video. Why the hell would I want that in my mobile device?  Not to mention the most important fact that is flash NEEDED? I think we can safely say no. HTML 5 will be common place once it is approved. Safari already supports it and it can do pretty much anything flash does. If anything else we can at least think of the flash blocking as a free ad blocker. No I don’t want to punch that monkey or punch out Bin Laden I just want to read the site!

The second issue is one nobody has brought up (that I have noticed at least). Where is handwriting recognition. Sure the stylus sucks with the problem that you lose it. But please could we at least take notes using handwriting recognition? I would love to be able to just use a stylus while taking notes. It allows for a more natural experience. Personally I have never liked taking notes with a keyboard. Maybe I am just crazy with this idea. Let me point out lack of handwriting recognition is not a feature that will kill the product for me.

So what do I think about the iPad? Well I am sure nobody really cares but I will say it anyways. The iPad is the first step to real tablet computing. This is the future that pretty much any big sci-fi fan has been wanting. The device that you could bring anywhere and do pretty much anything with. This is what many thought netbooks would do but finally we see a device that is truly forward looking and not backwards like the netbook.

And the E-Book wars begin!

First shots are now being fired in the real start of the e-book wars. Many would argue that the e-book wars started a with the Kindle trying to rival the Sony Book Reader. Back then epub seemed young and weak and Amazon was the 800 pound gorilla. And this has seemed to be true for the last year or so. The Kindle was synonymous with e-book reader and pretty much every other reader went epub hoping that the “openness” would win readers over from the Kindle. Now Apple with the announcement of the iPad has showed up on the scene and if Amazon was a 800 pound gorilla, well Apple is some kind of shiny new 20 ton battle tank.

Sure we have seen Amazon king for awhile now but what is going on now? Amazon the biggest book retail just lost a deal with Macmillan! This shows that Amazon has got to be to powerful. They are so powerful the book publishers are willing to walk away to someone they know they can challenge them but will give them a better posision. Apple says it will price match Amazon well if your books are not even on Amazon what is there to price match? Jobs talks about publishers pulling out of Amazon. Apple is providing a perfect marketplace for the book publishers. They are using epub (the open standard publishers agree on) and not using mobi like Amazon. Apple never said anything at their event about DRM for the e-books but we can assume that they will start with Apple’s own version of DRM. The question though is will Apple be able to force ebooks to become DRM free as it did with MP3s?

The fact that Apple is doing epub is something many may not realize the importance of. Epub in the past has always been a format that even though its an standard and open has always been controlled by Adobe. Adobes renderer has been the bane of many people who really know the epub spec and write a document to the spec only to find Adobe’s renderer does not work as it was intended. Apple now has a chance to come in and show the true power of epub.

What we are watching right now is just a minor skirmish who knows what wonderful things we will get out of this ebook war. We may finally see affordable college textbooks that don’t break students backs economically or physically. We may see DRM be gone from another media format. Really though all to truly know at this point is it will be very interesting to watch.

Has Apple’s Deal with AT&T saved us all?

Now I know this sounds completely out there. Few people think AT&T offer good service these days. Personally I don’t care about AT&T to much cause I live somewhere they don’t even cover. But lets put that all behind us as that is not what I want to look at today.

A few years ago Apple announced a minor mobile device known as the iPhone. They announced it on AT&T exclusive and everyone has complained about this for the last few years. Now how about we look back to that time and contemplate a different chain of events. What could have happend if Verizon had gotten exclusivity of the iPhone instead of AT&T? Well many times it has been reported about how much AT&T has gained in subscribers thanks to the iPhone. What if AT&T had never got these gains? Would we see these two huge companies AT&T and Verizon dooking it out on the airwaves to get our money? I have this odd feeling had Verizon gotten the iPhone deal we would be seeing once again the monopoly of one phone service. If we go back to when the deal was struck AT&T was not in the position it was not. Sure it was one of hte bigger cell phone companies but it really didnt rivel Verizon at the time. Verizon was king. Now look we got two giants fighting it out!

Now fast forward to this week. We hear that AT&T now has exclusivity on the iPad. What does that really mean though? The iPad is unlocked GSM and uses a micro-sim sure it doesn’t support T-Mobiles band of the wireless spectrum but that doesn’t matter as much as the bigger news. Apple has managed to force AT&T to not only get a lower data rate but also make it not require a contract. Do you think Verizon would have accepted that? Not right now but in a year when the next version of the iPad comes out how much do you want to bet there will be a 4G version which will support all the LTE carriers? What will that mean? Well dataplans will actually have to compete with each other instead of over who has what device.

So what is the moral of this? Well Apple has managed to do something the FCC has failed at doing. They have prevented a Verizon monopoly and actually forced a move into more reasonable rates for Data Plans. But hey lets just ignore that progress and just complain that AT&T. Sure they don’t have 3G anywhere but I can tell you Verizon 3G is nothing to write home about when it comes to actual speed.

Why is the EU lawsuit getting press again suddenly?

So once again we got a big media group talking about the EU lawsuit by Opera. The real question is why does this keep getting released? Or even better what standing does this have? In the past it has been ok for Microsoft to have their browser installed by default and somehow with this HORRIBLE situation Firefox is still at what 25+% of the browser market? Wow I am so worried about Windows 7 bundling IE8 I mean people might actually get a decent and secure browser with their OS unlike XP which means some might not install Firefox? Um, sorry Firefox but if people switch that easily I am doubtful you were going to keep them anyways. Of course I am sure Mozilla would love for Microsoft to bundle IE6 I mean they are ACTUALLY better then that browser but suddenly they might have competition and it seems Mozilla has joined Opera in its if you cannot beat them in the market beat them in the court room tactic. By the way if anyone thinks this can really help Opera lets think about the end result with what Opera wants. Basically Opera wants to have a screen pop up that lets you choose an alternative browser. So lets see when you get to this screen it will probably just show the top 3 right? So we get IE8, Firefox, and Chrome ouch Opera you would still lose even if you won.

Links:

• pcmag.com

According to Consumer Reports MacBooks are best

So Consumer Reports is saying the MacBooks are best. Now remember though that this is from the users. Most though should take this as a grain of salt. I mean many of the Mac users that respond to this are the type that if Steve Jobs released a brick saying it somehow gave you telepathy some of them still might say it is the greatest thing ever. What am I getting at here? Well basically the Mac crowed will always calm they have the best meanwhile in PC land we can be more choosy about our laptops and generally people are never completely content with their laptops (unlike the Mac users who are more willing to overlook problems). So really none of this matters. I think we should just look at Consumer Reports and ignore Apple products as we know they are good quality but we should not really compare Apples to Oranges (or in this case PCs) when it comes to satisfaction.

Links:

• Tom’s Hardware

Google releases a way to do 3d on the web

Google today announced O3D which is a api for creating 3D apps on the web. This would be a javascript extension to allow for 3D graphics on web pages. Google is hoping this will help spark more ideas about where the web could go in the 3D direction. Of course this is interesting in other ways as well. For example more javascript is only going to bring in more security holes in the already tattered fabric that makes up javascript. Also who knows whether or not others will really pic up on this. As we have seen Mozilla build canvas3d for awhile now and there really hasn’t been that much mainstream interest. Maybe O3D will finally get the 3Ding of the web the mainstream attention that it needs if it really wants to get on its feet.

Links:

• Chromium Blog

Apple remains at top for Customer Service

According to a Forrester Apple remains at the top of the pack for PC manufactures when it comes to Customer Service. Of course the the 80% satisfaction rating was mostly gained from the normal reasons people seem to love their Macs. These being that is is “easy to use” and “enjoyable”. Of course what I want to know is if these customers are really enjoying it or if they just feel like they should since they just bought an Apple? Also I wonder if the rest of PC’s got low enjoyability ratings cause of all the bloatware on them. The reason Apple is ahead here is the same reason why people hate buying computers most likley. The fact that when you first open the box the user experience is never correct. Most often there is to much crap running and something is not working like it should. So of course Apple wins here they are the only ones who ship nice blank slate style computers that are expensive enough that even if you don’t enjoy your computer you feel as though you have to.

Links:

• pcmag.com

Possibly first Mac botnet

What could possibly be the first Mac botnet has been being watched by Symantec Ireland. The botnet named “iBotnet” was spread via pirated copies of iWork 09 and Adobe Photoshop CS4. For those thinking that using a Mac protects them from having to deal with Viruses and Malware should take note of this. Security through obscurity only lasts so long and the days of the Mac being completely safe are ending. As the Mac has more and more of the PC market it only makes sense that more people will begin attacking it as most Mac users aren’t protected and they even are lots of time not looking out for it. Of course it’s also not like Apple is taking the threat to mean much either as was shown in the PwnToOwn contest a month or so ago. Hopefully this will make Apple look more at security in their OS and applications.

Links:

• pcmag.com: Security Watch

Shuffle only costs 28% of its price to make

For those that don’t know after pretty much every Apple release there is at least one article that comes out talking about the huge markups Apple charges on its iPods. This though takes the cake for even Apple. Generally the parts for a Apple device are around 40-50% of the cost but 28% is getting really low. The real interesting part is the claim that this is some of the latest technology out there that is being used in the shuffle. We may be in a recession but Apple is not letting that hurt their image. Instead they are proving they are a technology powerhouse the right way by utilizing technology that is very close to the edge. Of course I cannot though pass up this opportunity to point out the oddest thing hear. The oddest part of this price is really the fact that upon the release of the Shuffle Apple raised the price of the Shuffle. Now this is odd figuring that they could have left at its old price and still had a rather beefy margin. Does this maybe mean Apple is putting more money into the design of the product and that is what the cost is covering? Or is the Shuffle just planned to be one of their highest margin products.

Links:

• BusinessWeek