Month: January 2013

Android SDK Is Now Proprietary ⇥ blogs.fsfe.org

Torsten Grote:

Apparently, Google made this step to prevent fragmentation of the ecosystem. What are they going to do next? This situation is far from perfect for software freedom. Developing Android Apps in freedom is only possible as soon as the Replicant developers catch up. Looks like Android stops being a Free Software friendly platform.

At question are these nuggets in Google’s license agreement for the Android SDK (emphasis mine):

3.3 You may not use the SDK for any purpose not expressly permitted by this License Agreement. Except to the extent required by applicable third party licenses, you may not: (a) copy (except for backup purposes), modify, adapt, redistribute, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or create derivative works of the SDK or any part of the SDK; or (b) load any part of the SDK onto a mobile handset or any other hardware device except a personal computer, combine any part of the SDK with other software, or distribute any software or device incorporating a part of the SDK.

3.4 You agree that you will not take any actions that may cause or result in the fragmentation of Android, including but not limited to distributing, participating in the creation of, or promoting in any way a software development kit derived from the SDK.

Totally open.

What Happens Now on Standards-Essential Patents? ⇥ allthingsd.com

Liz Gannes for AllThingsD:

The FTC is now on record saying that Google acted unfairly. That’s big.

That’s a really big part of this otherwise-undramatic settlement, especially given the letter Google set the IEEE early last year. Daniel Eran Dilger of AppleInsider:

Google “explicitly endorses” Motorola’s position that 2.25 percent royalties of the “net selling price of end products” are “fair and reasonable,” while leaving the door open to seek court injunctions against companies that are still negotiating these onerous terms, essentially using open standards to threatening to kill competitors’ products untiles they agree to pay Motorola, soon to be a subsidiary of Google, significant ongoing royalties completely unrelated to the value those patents add to the overall product in question.

It should shock nobody that Google admitted that this was unfair, and that they’re not able to use Motorola’s FRAND patents against competitors in an unfair way. Gannes continues:

For Microsoft and Apple, which have both been battling it out with Google and Motorola over disagreements concerning SEPs, this is vindication of their arguments. They have claimed for some time now that Google has not honored its obligation to license Motorola’s standards-essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (FRAND).

And now the FTC has come forward and said not only that this is indeed the case, but that Google can’t try to ban competing products using patents they licensed under a FRAND agreement. The settlement effectively de-weaponizes Motorola’s SEPs.

“Play With My V Spot” ⇥ venturebeat.com

Jolie O’Dell of VentureBeat:

Voco calls these ads “playful.” Maybe “playful” is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe the beholder doesn’t think of women’s body parts as playthings. Maybe that kind of play isn’t in any way related to voice-control technology or consumer electronics — you know, the kind that aren’t sold at Babeland.

Or maybe they just pitched a journalist who isn’t in the mood to play those pubescent, sniggering games anymore.

I’m shocked that anyone would approve these ads in 1988 2012 2013. Appalling.

James Bond: 50 Years of Main Title Design ⇥ artofthetitle.com

Ben Radatz:

[T]here are also two famous visual Bond hallmarks not of Fleming origin: the “Bond Barrel” sequence, in which white dots animate in stop-frame fashion across the screen to become a gun barrel aimed at 007, and the main title sequence: a sovereign piece of graphic real estate nestled into every Bond film, usually around 15 minutes into the first act, at the conclusion of the traditional pre-title action sequence.

So great. In related news, Skyfall will be out on the eighteenth of February.

How Google Beat the Feds ⇥ dyn.politico.com

Regarding the previously-linked FCC-Google story, Tony Romm for Politico:

This wasn’t always Google’s strategy — but the turning point came back in 2011.

As it became clear the FTC had its sights set on the company, Google recognized it had no choice but to mature — or risk its own “Microsoft moment.” In the months to follow, the company embarked on a coordinated push to expand its lobbying balance sheet, donate more to lawmakers, connect better with public-interest groups and make new friends in the academic community, many sources told Politico.

Microsoft tried — and failed — to ignore the feds. It’s no shock that Google would seek to lobby those with influence to minimize their own controversial (possibly monopolistic) practices.

There’s No Avoiding Google+ ⇥ marco.org

Marco Arment:

In Google+’s case, I do believe them that they have 500 million accounts, but that’s about half as many as Facebook. Does anyone believe for a second that Google+ has half of any other important metric as Facebook?

Nope.

I think Google sees Google+ as an extension of the Google brand experience itself, which is probably why it’s both confusing and unused. They even call removing a Google+ profile “downgrading” (via Jim Dalrymple). Maybe Google’s long-term strategy for this is to bundle everything into one big Google experience (though that seems like a dangerous idea).

Ubuntu for Phones ⇥ arstechnica.com

Announced yesterday, Ubuntu for smartphones is scheduled to be shipping at some point next year. I didn’t post about it because I don’t think it’s that interesting, new, or destined for success. But some comments reported by Ars Technica‘s Jon Brodkin piqued my interest:

In short, [Canonical founder Mark] Shuttleworth believes that Ubuntu will be more user-friendly for people who barely know how to use a smartphone, and he says it will offer a more powerful alternative to Android at the high end for several reasons, including Ubuntu’s ability to operate across mobile devices and desktops (click here for more on the design of Ubuntu for phones.)

This is delusional. Take a look at Engadget’s hands-on video (linked above), or Vlad Savov’s from The Verge. Both show a UI that is nearly hidden unless you swipe from edges to navigate. The side app switcher and the settings pulldown are particularly weak: both require the user to be incredibly precise with their finger to avoid unintentional touches. It isn’t more user-friendly at all, especially not for those who don’t have any experience with a smartphone.

Like Microsoft, Canonical has chosen to distribute one operating system across their mobile, tablet, and desktop environments. While this does give all devices the same power and hackability (as alluded to by Shuttleworth), it means that they’re all running an OS that isn’t quite optimized for any given platform. iOS is essentially a stripped-down version of OS X underneath, and Android is a stripped-down *nix distro. But they’ve both been designed for smaller touch screens. A full version of Ubuntu on a cellphone doesn’t make sense for most people.

This appears to be a confused disaster.

Everything Is Not Equally Good ⇥ 37signals.com

David Heinemeier Hansson of 37signals:

Ideas are meant to be attacked, torn apart, and put back together again. You may well want to shield your idea from the harsh sunlight at first, but by the time it’s ready to meet the world, it should also be ready for rain or shine. Bad ideas are supposed to wither under the stress of criticism.

Take a Stance ⇥ brooksreview.net

Generally, I like Ben Brooks’ site. Even on the days that I disagree with it, I appreciate that he has a definite opinion. But that’s probably why this “review” [Brooks doesn’t call it a review, but that’s the format it’s in.] of the Goruck GR1 bag rubs me the wrong way. In his closing remarks, Brooks offers this summary:

First I couldn’t decide between pocket knives, now I can’t decide between these two bags. Both truly are excellent bags, and you can’t go wrong with either. My best advice is to pick the one that fits you better.

Ba wha huh?

But you’re the guy that wrote this about why you dislike The Verge:

You can say all you want about my opinions — whether I am right or wrong — what you can’t say is that I don’t have one.

I can now.

Continued:

I will take you disagreeing with me all day long over being a bland yes man.

This is a rather long winded way of saying exactly what MG Siegler said above: take a stance.

Take a stance, Ben. Which bag is better?

(For my tastes, both suck. I’m waiting for Roots’ Raiders bag to arrive in the mail.)

In Related News, Claim Chowder Is Now Available in Stupid, and Extra Stupid ⇥ bgr.com

Zach Epstein of BGR quoting Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White:

… the next iPhone (i.e., likely called the iPhone 5S) that we currently believe will be launched in May/June…

May or June? June is plausible — that’s when WWDC is. May? What the fuck?

White believes the next iPhone will be available in five different colors: pink, yellow, blue, white & silver and black & slate.

Different colours are possible, but unlikely.

He also believes there will be two different screen sizes available on the device, marking the first time Apple has released one phone with multiple display size options.

Are you high?

He continued, noting that multiple screen sizes could allow Apple to better address emerging markets with a lower-cost iPhone.

In Brian White’s world, increased production complexity makes the phone less expensive.

The Spectacular Thefts of Apollo Robbins ⇥ newyorker.com

Adam Green for The New Yorker:

Again, Robbins begged off, but he offered to do a trick instead. He instructed [Penn] Jillette to place a ring that he was wearing on a piece of paper and trace its outline with a pen. By now, a small crowd had gathered. Jillette removed his ring, put it down on the paper, unclipped a pen from his shirt, and leaned forward, preparing to draw. After a moment, he froze and looked up. His face was pale.

“Fuck. You,” he said, and slumped into a chair.

Robbins held up a thin, cylindrical object: the cartridge from Jillette’s pen.

No, Really, It’s the End of the Netbook ⇥ techland.time.com

Charles Arthur declared netbooks a dead category, but Harry McCracken of Time disagrees:

A netbook was merely a lightweight notebook with a smallish screen and a low price tags. It’s not like lightweight notebooks, small screens and low price points will go away, even if nobody makes a computer that’s officially called a netbook.

But this is fundamentally wrong: a netbook wasn’t just defined by weight, screen size, and price. Netbooks used low-performance processors like Intel’s Atom line, didn’t have much RAM, and usually ran either Windows XP or a stripped-down Linux distro as a result. The user experience was so bad that the netbook was a laptop so named because it was really only acceptable for browsing the web and dealing with email.

McCracken is correct that small, light, and inexpensive laptops aren’t going away this year, but that doesn’t mean the netbook will live on. The tasks netbooks were really great at — email and internet things — are accomplished far better on any modern tablet. The netbook is dead.