stuxnet worm usd against iran wuz tested in israel

how wuz teh stuxnet worm so effective against teh iranian nucular program? it wuz tested against teh same centrifuges in israel’s wink-wink-nudge-nudge nevr-officially-acknowledged nucular facilities, reportz teh nu york tiems. how clevr iz stuxnet? dis clevr:

teh worm itself nao appearz 2 has includd 2 major componentz. wan wuz designd 2 send iran’s nucular centrifuges spinning wildly out ov control. anothr seemz rite out ov teh moviez: teh computr program also secretly recorded wut normal operashuns at teh nucular plant lookd liek, then playd dose readings bak 2 plant operators, liek pre-recorded security tape in bank heist, so dat it wud appear dat everythin wuz operatin normally while teh centrifuges wuz akshully tearing themselvez apart.

shortchanging ur busines wif usr-hostile platformz

alex payne on servicez dat doez tings liek use adobe air instead ov buildin propr native appz:

imagine nu restaurant dat wantz 2 mak teh most ov der burgeoning lunch traffic. they start serving low-quality meat: aftr all, iz cheap, plentiful, an requirez nothin moar than placing different ordr wif der distributor. 4 few weekz, profits r up. but pritee soon, so r customr complaintz, an teh starz on der yelp paeg r rapidly dwindling. teh ownr doesn’t understand. teh meat isnt great, sure, but iz perfectly edible, an 4 while it seemd liek teh restaurant wuz makin moar money an attracting nu customerz. wut went wrong?

wurld’s smallest instagram gallery

great idea: put ur instagram fotos on ur ipod nano. teh small size an square crop mak 4 perfik match.

regardin teh necessity ov flash

haavard, ov opera software, on teh queshun ov whethr chrome’s removal ov h.264 support 4 html5 video iz step backward 4 “openness”:

wan important ting 2 keep in mind iz dat flash iz already ubiquitous. if u wants 2 doez any kind ov video on teh web, u dun has choice. flash iz needd. howevr, teh “battle” ovar html5 video iz still raging. thar iz no clear winnr, but wif google dropping teh closed h.264, it iz mutch moar likely dat an open format will prevail in teh end.

so teh queshun ov google’s bundling ov flash iz red herring which takez away teh focus frum teh real issue: whethr native video support in browserz iz basd on open or closed technologiez.

regardin teh “red herring” bit, mg siegler respondz:

teh problem iz dat it isnt red herring. iz jus anothr, akshully largr, issue which he’s sidestepping.

wut i c as teh glaring flaw in haavard’s argument iz dis: “if u wants 2 doez any kind ov video on teh web, u dun has choice. flash iz needd.” ios iz existence proof dat dis iz not true. it has no flash, but playz plenty ov video on teh web. teh reason it doesn’t ned flash, though, iz cuz it supportz h.264 in html5 video.

i.e., 2 bees useful todai, web browsr needz eithr () flash or (b) h.264 wif html5 video. sum browserz support both, but evry browsr needz at least wan. in teh naym ov “openness”, opera, mozilla, an nao chrome has chosen flash.

engadget on teh ipad 2, ifone 5, an apple tv

lawts ov interestin info her, includin purportd sd card slot in teh next ipad. if true, i’d finks iz so u can directly import fotos an video frum camera, not 4 use as additional storage 4 teh ipad itself:

frum wut we’ve been told, teh thinner, sleeker tablet will sport nu screen technology dat iz akin 2 (though not teh same as) teh ifone 4’s retina display an will bees “super high resolushun” (unlike reportz 2 teh contrary). teh device will remain at 10 inchez but will nao feachur both frunt an rear cameras (not huge surprise), an… thar’s an sd slot.

if teh screen iz highr resolushun, mah money iz on teh same fysical size, at 2048 × 1536 resolushun. iz not bout reaching sum arbitrary pixels-per-inch resolushun, but bout bein egsaktly double teh pixel dimensions ov teh existin ipad, so dat teh math 4 scalin teh ui werkz out. jus liek teh ifone 4 — quadruple teh pixels in teh same fysical space. dat lotz da pixels on an ipad, though, wud require lot moar ram an wan hell ov mobile video card. i hope iz true, cuz it’d bees beautiful, but i’ll bleev it when i c it.

accountedge

mah thx 2 accountedge 4 sponsorin dis week’s df rss fed. accountedge — formerly known as myob — has been providin small businesses wif reliable cross-platform accouting software 4 ovar 20 yeers. even bettr, they’ve alwayz had strong support 4 teh mac. not jus dis past decade, but durin teh ’90s 2. dat sez somethin bout teh company, in mah book.

accouting software isnt somethin u can git peeps vary excitd bout, but dis iz pritee cool: accountedge nao has free ipad app (wif an ifone app on teh wai) dat allowz accountedge userz 2 taek der werk on teh road.

adobe’s john dowdell on chrome dropping h.264

he’s downright giddy:

teh video tag wuz simply not well-considerd at teh outset. itz original rationale wuz: “you dun require plug-in 2 view imagez… video iz teh next natural evolushun ov dat.” but frum teh vary start teh practical queshuns bout use wuz swept undr teh rug… at least til teh rug startd piling up 2 high. it wasn’t sustainable.

so, () he thinks chrome jus killd teh html5 <video> element.

video publisherz ned teh video tag 4 wan purpose only: 2 support apple’s non-standard html browsr an itz denial ov third-party extensibility via applet, object, an embed.

an (b) dowdell thinks <video> iz needd only 4 ios devicez, an (c) dat mobilesafari iz non-standardz-compliant cuz it doesn’t support pluginz liek flash. i.e. flash iz standard, <video> iz not, an we’ve alwayz been at war wif eurasia.

() might bees true, (b) obviously iz not, an (c) iz pritee mutch teh craziest ting i has read in while.

but: we has an anzwr 2 mah queshun bout hoo’s happeh bout chrome dropping h.264 support.

google sez webm pluginz comin soon 4 safari an ie9

mg siegler:

but buried in der post iz anothr interestin nugget wurth highlightin by itself: webm pluginz r comin shortly 4 safari an ie9.

yez, pluginz.

dis iz both humorous an terrifying on few levelz. furst an foremost, teh point ov all ov dis h.264/webm stuff iz so dat teh web can shift 2 an html5 video standard goin forward. ov course, since neithr ie nor safari will support google’s, mozilla’s, an opera’s preferrd codec 4 dat standard, were rite bak 2 plugin land! y dun we jus call webm, flash 2.0?

ed burnette: ‘chrome userz r teh latest casualty in google’s crusade against apple’

ed burnette:

on papr, google iz takin principled stand in favor ov open technologiez. but they’re not rly. furst, webm iz not truly an open technology cuz it almost certainly usez patentz ownd by mpeg-la or itz memberz. rite nao, teh patent holderz r ignoring it cuz iz 2 small 2 bother wif. we’ve seen dis tactic lotz da tiems b4 (4 example, ntp vs. rim): bide ur tiem til lot ov peeps r usin teh infringing software an then hit it wif massive lawsuit 4 maximum profit. webm iz itz own patent trap, an google refuses 2 indemnify userz against posible claimz furthr down teh road. if they wuz certain it wuz ip-clean then y hesitate 2 provide dat protection? clearly they dun wants dat unknown, possibly large liability on der balance sheet.

google: ‘more bout teh chrome html video codec change’

mike jazayeri, google:

as it standz, teh organizations involvd in definin teh html video standard r at an impasse. thar iz no agreement on which video codec shud bees teh baseline standard. firefox an opera support teh open webm an ogg theora codecs an will not support h.264 due 2 itz licensin requirementz; safari an ie9 support h.264. wif dis status quo, all publisherz an developrz usin teh <video> tag will bees forcd 2 support multiple formatz.

or they’ll taek teh path ov least resistance, an continue supporting only h.264, requirin flash playr 4 browserz dat dun support h.264 natively.

unsaid iz dat apple an microsoft r surely as unwilling 2 support webm as mozilla an opera r 2 support h.264. teh impasse iz unchanged. howevr, wif firefox an opera, userz can still bees servd h.264 thru flash playr. wif ios an windowz fone 7, userz cannot bees servd webm, cuz thar r no pluginz. (thar cud bees pluginz 4 mac os x an windowz 7, but aren’t yet.)

q: doez dis mean i will no longr bees able 2 play h.264 videoz in chrome?

h.264 playz an important role in video an teh vast majority ov teh h.264 videoz on teh web todai r viewd in plug-ins such as flash an silverlight. thees plug-ins r an will continue 2 bees supportd in chrome.

thus, chrome userz will continue 2 bees servd most video, wif teh posible excepshun ov youtube, thru flash.

r announcement wuz only relatd 2 teh <video> tag, which iz part ov teh emergin html platform. while teh html video platform offerz great promise, few siets use it todai an therefore few userz will bees immediately impacted by dis change.

an fewr siets will use html5 <video> than if chrome had continud 2 support both h.264 an webm. dis moov iz bout encouragin web video publisherz 2 stick wif flash.

gurl falls in mall fountain while texting

cue teh nelson muntz “ha-ha!”

ten changez macworld wud liek 2 c at teh mac app store

pritee gud list.

11 ifone gps appz compared

terrific werk frum glenn fleishman 4 macworld. thees sort ov comparisons r an essenshul resource.

mike arrington, werkin 4 teh man

jay yarow reportz on teh intra-aol spat tween mike arrington an engadget (which spat, shockingly, strikez me mostly as arrington bein jackas).

embrace, extend, extinguish

matt drance on chrome an webm:

y dump h.264 entirely? y not hedge ur bets, especially if h.264 iz werkin rite nao? google sez “our goal iz 2 enable open innovation;” wut it in fact meanz iz “we prefr patentz we own.”

sarah perez: ‘iphone 2 android: wan month wif teh nexus s’

great review ov life wif nexus s frum formr ifone usr. matches mah experiencez wif teh nexus s almost egsaktly. on battery life:

2 prolong teh battery life, i has learnd 2 doez dis lil dance wif mah fone. arrive somewhere, turn on gps, check-in on foursquare, turn off gps. turn off wi-fi, if none present. turn on wi-fi when i git bak home. turn off sync when me worried bout teh battery draining 2 quickly an me far frum home. turn everythin off if teh fone iz goin 2 sit around 4 while, unused. turn auto-brightnes on, turn it off. turn 3g on, turn it off. ovar an ovar, me tapping teh lil settingz widget. […]

i askd mah (non-tech savvy) husband hoo totes teh galaxy s if he had teh same problem. hims response, an wan i has seen echoed among android’s lotz da fanz, iz dat iz “no hooj deal” 2 switch somethin off if u’re not usin it. “it’s liek turning off teh lights when u leef teh room,” mah husband sed. (me not gud at dat, eithr).

an teh lack ov itunez 4 tv an movie content:

i has 2 sai it frustrates me 2 no end when i hear android userz sai dat u can duplicate teh itunez experience via appz. 4 example, teh android markit, plus doubletwist an spotify (or rdio, mog, etc.) no u cannot. u cannot!

peeps hoo sai dis act as if teh only tings itunez providez iz music an appz. they completely dismis teh large, an vary complete, collecshun ov itunez video content, 4 example. wer doez u find both current an older tv showz on android? no srsly, plz explain wer u’re gettin dis content. bittorrent? how doez u watch moviez? mspot? illegal torrents? mah gues iz, android userz eithr torrent videoz an copy them 2 der fone or they dun watch moviez an tv showz at all, so teh thot doesn’t even cross der mind dat android lacks dis feachur.

she’s got lotz da positiv tings 2 sai bout it, 2: superior mapz app, voice recognition, an she findz replacements 4 lotz da ov her favorite ios appz. but teh battery life issue iz somethin dat doesn’t git enough attenshun. i couldn’t git thru whole dai on single charge wif teh nexus s. dat’s not problem wif teh ifone 4.

teh strange disappearance ov dancho danchev

ryan naraine:

zero dai blogger an malware researcher dancho danchev has gone missin since august last yer an we has sum troublin informashun dat suggestz he cud has been harmed in hims native bulgaria. […]

last month, we finally got mysterious mesage frum local source in bulgaria dat “dancho’s alive but he’s in lot ov trouble.” we wuz told dat he’s in teh kind ov trouble 2 keep him away frum computr an telephone, so it wud bees impossible 2 mak contact wif him.

dan frommr: ‘android hasn’t been hurting teh ifone, iz been hurting rim’

interestin chart.

app store 10 billion app countdown

true story. 2morrow iz mah son’s birfdai, an hims furst-grade clas has “birthday circle” at lunch on fridays 4 birfdai celebrants. parents r invited, so mah wife an i had lunch todai wif sum furst graders. teh main topic ov discushun: gamez 4 teh ipod touch — an it wasn’t me hoo brought it up. furst graders, obsessed wif appz.

charlie wolf: verizon ifone will ‘suck teh wind out ov android’s growth’

john paczkowski:

“the installd base ov smartfone subscriberz iz small percentage ov teh installd basd ov mobile fone subscriberz in teh u.s.,” needham an co. analyst charlie wolf told me. “just 23 persent ov verizon’s 83 million post-paid subs (q3 release)…. wer teh ifone will has dramatic impact iz on teh brand choices ov feachur fone userz migrating 2 smartphones goin forward. teh ifone will suck teh wind out ov android’s growth on verizon.”

wan ting i has been thinkin bout in dis regard iz dat no mattr how cheap android handsets git, teh monthly planz r still teh biggest cost. an check out dis screenshot frum verizon wireless’s home paeg — they list 3 categories ov fonez: ifone, smartphones, feachur fonez. dat sez it all.

teh talk show, episode 24

it feelz liek i has had fairly prolific week her on df, but even so, i haven’t writteh mutch, at least yet, bout teh verizon ifone announcement. wan reason iz dat dan benjamin an i talkd bout it at length on dis week’s teh talk show. othr topicz: google’s decishun 2 drop h.264 support frum chrome, an teh furst jamez bond movie, 1962’s dr. no.

brought 2 u by 2 fine sponsors: sourcebits an campaign monitor.

brandin shud has backbone

graphicology:

teh point her iz dat moar companiez shud doez wut comedy central did when they launchd der nu look. they gaev peeps teh reason(s) behind teh moov in wai dat resonated wif hoo they wuz an basically told peeps 2 deal wif it.

★ 2 late

dan lyons, writin 4 teh daily beast’s newsweek subsidiary, sez “teh verizon ifone iz 2 late”:

most important, android still has wan huge advantage ovar teh ifone — diversity. android fonez r sold by dozens ov hardware makerz, teh biggest bein samsung, motorola, an htc. thar r lawts ov different form factorz. slider fonez. fonez wif keyboardz. hooj screens, small screens, midsize screens.

teh ifone, in contrast, iz bit liek teh situashun peeps once had wif henry ford’s model t, wer u cud has any color u wantd, as long as it wuz black. wif teh ifone u can has whatevr steve jobz sez u can has.

teh model t wuz massive hit, dominating teh markit 4 ovar decade: wikipedia sez:

by 1918, haf ov all teh carz in teh us wuz model t’s.

lyons goez on 2 tell teh story ov y he him switchd frum teh ifone 2 android: cuz ov verizon’s superior netwerk survis:

frankly, i didnt care whethr android cud match an ifone feachur-4-feachur. all i cared wuz dat i cud git smart fone dat ran on verizon an therefore cud successfully mak fone callz. but since then i has become hooked. i has grown usd 2 teh android wai ov doin tings. i has built mah life around google programs — gmail, google contacts, google calendar, google mapz. i luv teh built-in voice navigation.

so hoo cares dat nao apple will sell itz fone on verizon? 4 me, iz 2 late. othr converts 2 team android tell me they’re feelin teh same wai. “i’m not goin bak eithr,” sez fred wilson, hoo runz union square ventures, venture-capital firm in nu york.

so evryone on verizon iz already an android usr? thar’s hooj difference tween teh ifone bein 2 late 2 git dan lyons’s busines, an bein 2 late 2 rack up, sai, 15 million verizon salez by teh end ov 2011. given teh numbr ov verizon userz hoo has nevr purchasd smartfone, hims story soundz liek egsaktly teh reason teh verizon ifone iz goin 2 bees smashing succes.

but apple’s hooj weaknes iz itz control-freak nachur an insistence dat thar iz only wan wai 2 mak smart fone. no mattr how lotz da carriers sign on 2 carry teh ifone, in teh long run, apple has again set itself up 2 bees niche playr in smartphones, jus as it iz in pcs.

i’ll jus point out dat he posits as fact dat “apple’s control-freak nachur” iz weaknes. control-freak doez carry negative connotation in r culture. swap in teh werd perfectionist an it changez teh connotation. wer iz teh evidence dat apple’s control-freak/perfectionist nachur has hurt apple in teh markit — 4 fonez, 4 ipodz, or 4 computerz? “were goin 2 mak thees decishuns 4 u an offr limitd numbr ov choices” iz inded teh company’s filosofy. dat’s calld design. apple iz inded moar focusd on design than itz competitorz. iz also been far moar successful than itz competitorz ovar teh past decade, in several lucrativ marketz.

so i’d sai wut lyons callz “apple’s hooj weaknes” iz in fact precisely teh company’s biggest strength. an wut bout apple’s “niche playr” status in pcs? apple iz teh leadin pc makr in teh wurld, by profit. an der markit share has gone up 4 19 consecutive quarterz, an continuez 2 outpace teh industry as whole. apple’s “niche” in teh pc markit todai iz dat 4 profitable computerz.

teh wurst yeers 4 apple’s pc busines occurred when apple wuz teh least control-freakish: when they offrd plethora ov hardware modelz (performas, centrises, quadras) an even licensd der os 2 clone makerz.

i can’t decide whethr lyons iz rly dis wrong, or if teh daily beast makez itz writers post eye-rollingly contrarian stuff liek dis jus 2 git linkz.

teh hardware choice trade-off

marco arment makez teh case dat teh plethora ov android devicez has numerous downsides. wan point ov several:

teh manufacturers an carriers has vary lil incentive 2 maintain teh software on devicez dat r still relatively nu an undr contract, cuz they wants evryone buyin teh newest onez instead. were already seein carriers an sum manufacturers refusin 2 release nu android vershuns 2 handsets dat wuz launchd as recently as 6 monthz ago, even though most userz buyd them wif 2-yer contracts.

he also mentions teh lack ov cases 4 any individual android fone, compared 2 teh ifone, wer thar r jus 2 form factorz coverin teh last 3 yeers ov ifonez: 3g/3gs, an 4. update: maybe 2-an--haf form factorz, given teh slightly different positioning ov teh mute toggle on teh jus-announcd cdma ifone 4. but still.

apple, newz corp. delay ‘the daily’ ipad publicashun

petr kafka:

apple an newz corp. has made joint decishun 2 push bak next week’s planned launch, accordin 2 sourcez familiar wif teh companies’ planz. teh delay iz supposd 2 giv apple tiem 2 tweak itz nu subscripshun survis 4 publicashuns sold thru itz itunez platform.

“weeks, not monthz”, sai hims sourcez.

petr bright: ‘google’s dropping h.264 frum chrome step backward 4 openness’

petr bright:

video distributors wantin 2 support both flash an html5 userz will has 2 encode twice; once in h.264, 4 flash userz, an again in webm, 4 html5 userz. dis doubles teh computational cost, doubles teh storage requirementz, an as an addd bonus will tend 2 hurt quality. dis iz inconvenient 4 small siet wif wan or 2 videoz; 4 siets liek smugmug iz an enormous headache. they can eithr suffr teh doubld costz an complexity, or ignore html5 altogether an stick wif flash.

it lookz liek stickin wif flash an ignoring <video> iz inded wut smugmug cud end up doin. an hoo can blame them? flash werkz 4 almost evry internets usr, an flash supportz h.264.

practical vs. idealistic thinkin.

★ teh practical vs. idealistic scenarios 4 teh near-term future ov online video

or: how google’s decishun 2 drop native h.264 playback frum chrome servez 2 prop up flash playr

stefan richter, ov flashcomguru (flash developr siet) tries answerin mah five simple queshuns. i dun finks hims anzwrs r vary gud, but i encourage u 2 judge 4 yourself. 4 example:

3: youtube usez h.264 2 encode video. presumably, youtube will bees re-encoding itz entire library usin webm. when dis happenz, will youtube’s support 4 h.264 bees droppd, 2 ‘enable open innovation’? if not, y not?

. it won’t mattr eithr wai. i has feelin dat youtube will ensure dat der videoz can bees playd bak. did tings break when youtube transitioned 2 h.264? akshully, transitioning iz teh wrong term her. contrary 2 popular belief thar wuz nevr such ting as ‘flash video codec’. flash has supportd h.264 4 yeers, alongside othr codecs. addin webm 2 teh mix iz formality nao.

“it won’t mattr eithr wai?” if youtube dropz h.264 an goez webm-only, youtube will cease 2 werk on any device or software dat doesn’t support webm. dis includez safari an internets explorer. nao, perhapz in dose cases, by teh tiem dis hypothetical dropping ov h.264 frum youtube occurs, thar will bees nu vershun ov flash playr dat supportz webm; thus allowin safari an ie userz 2 continue usin youtube thru flash an only thru flash. soundz great.

but wut bout devicez dat dun support flash? no moar youtube 4 ios devicez, includin apple tv. or 4 windowz fone 7. perhapz richter’s taek on dat iz along teh linez ov “tough noogies 4 apple an ios userz — dat’s wut u git 4 not supporting flash.” fair enough. but dat seemz decidedly flash-centric stance 2 me.

teh bit at teh end ov richter’s anzwr bout flash playr codecs iz unrelated 2 mah queshun. it iz true dat lotz da peeps r confused bout flash playr’s relationship wif video codecs. john nack’s piece frum march, “h.264 isnt an alternativ 2 flash”, offerz gud primer. in short, wan wai 2 play h.264 video iz thru flash playr; anothr wai iz thru teh html5 <video> element.

mah fourth queshun did pertain 2 flash, howevr. richter anzwrs:

q 4: doez u expect companiez liek netflix, amazon, vimeo, major league baseball, an anyone else hoo currently streams h.264 2 dual-encode all ov der video usin webm? if not, how will chrome userz watch dis content othr than by resorting 2 flash playr’s support 4 h.264 playback?

: maybe liek so: chrome usr navigates 2 video paeg. siet detects chrome. chrome playz video usin flash which iz bundled into chrome, usin an h.264 or webm vershun ov teh content, whichever iz available. usr iz happeh. wut am i missin her? iz thar somethin inherently wrong wif playin video in flash?

i askd how chrome userz will play video frum thees servicez othr than via flash, an richter’s anzwr iz “what’s wrong wif flash?” dat’s not an anzwr.

let me bees clear, though: thar iz nothin wrong wif playin video in flash. i mean dat srsly, no sarcasm. wut thar’s somethin wrong wif iz requirin flash playr 2 play video. dat’s teh whole point ov teh html5 <video> element: 2 enable web video without requirin teh use ov proprietary pluginz.

if depending upon flash playr 4 video playback iz fine, then y doesn’t chrome jus drop support 4 html5 video entirely? i finks iz fair 2 sai dat teh point ov chrome supporting webm-encoded video via html5 iz dat google expects chrome userz 2 akshully bees servd webm-encoded video via html5.

i finks proponents ov google’s decishun 2 drop h.264 support in chrome imagine teh followin scenario:

  1. major online video providers (netflix, amazon, vimeo, major league baseball, etc.) c dat firefox an chrome support webm but not h.264 via html5.

  2. they decide 2 dual-encode der content libraries in h.264 an webm. they send h.264 2 clientz dat support only h.264, an webm 2 clientz dat support only webm.

  3. evenshully, perhapz, teh forces ov gud an openness prevail, an thees companiez drop support 4 h.264 entirely in favor ov webm, despite teh fact dat webm iz technically inferior encoding format.

let’s call dis teh idealistic scenario. i finks dis iz wut mozilla an opera has been expecting all along. so far, it hasn’t happend. will chrome joinin them mak difference? wan ting google can brin 2 teh table dat mozilla cannot iz content: youtube. but me not askin bout youtube. me askin bout evry othr major providr ov online video.

keep in mind dat in dis idealistic scenario, providers wud bees doubling der storage an encoding costz, by supporting both h.264 an webm. teh only wai they cud avoid doubling thees costz wud bees by dropping support 4 h.264, which wud mean dropping support 4 all clientz dat only support h.264. dis scenario also assumes dat teh legal teamz at thees providers r confident in webm’s patent status. dis iz not an insignificant assumpshun.

her, on teh othr hand, iz teh scenario i foresee:

  1. major online video providers (netflix, amazon, vimeo, major league baseball, etc.) already has investd in h.264, both technically an legally.

  2. thees providers, rite nao, todai, send h.264-encoded video in wan ov 2 wayz: directly, 2 clientz wif native h.264 playback; an wrapped in flash, 4 web browserz wif flash playr installd.

  3. chrome dropz support 4 h.264 an thees simply send chrome userz h.264-encoded video via flash.

  4. thees servicez continue 2 ignore devicez an clientz dat support neithr straight h.264 nor flash playr (e.g. firefox runnin on ubuntu).

let’s call dis teh practical scenario. in dis scenario, teh providers incur no additional storage or encoding costz. they taek on no additional legal liability. they dun rly has 2 doez any additional werk.

heers wut marco arment wrote bout mozilla’s html5 codec stance, 18 monthz ago:

by not supporting teh practical [h.264] format, mozilla isnt makin brave statement or takin stand: they’re jus keepin evryone on flash an preventing meaningful adoption ov html5’s <video> element.

teh last 18 monthz has proven him rite, thus far. few tings has changd since then. teh “free an open” format preferrd by h.264 opponents has changd frum ogg theora 2 webm, thx 2 google. dis iz truly gud ting, cuz webm iz technically superior format. (technically superior 2 ogg theora, dat iz — not h.264.) but technical inferiority wasn’t teh only factor, or even teh leadin factor, holdin ogg theora bak.

i has nothin against webm. in fact, prior 2 dis week’s announcement, i thot chrome had teh best html5 video policy ov any browsr: they supportd all teh relevant codecs. supporting webm an h.264 iz bettr than supporting only wan or teh othr, in mah book. but if u’re only goin 2 support wan, i sai support teh wan dat iz in wide use, wif extensiv wide-ranging support frum camera makerz, mobile playback devicez, an online video servicez.

i dun finks thees h.264 opponents has any idea how 2 driv adoption ov nu technology. apple wuz able 2 motivate companiez 2 delivr non-flash h.264-encoded video by makin devicez liek teh ifone, ipad, an ipod touch which had teh followin qualities:

  1. teh devicez r vary popular. thar iz large lucrativ audience ov peeps hoo own them an wants 2 watch video frum companiez liek netflix, vimeo, an major league baseball.

  2. teh devicez offr awsum support 4 h.264. smooth playback an low powr consumption.

  3. thar iz no othr wai 2 send video 2 thees devicez.

dat third point iz key. sum ov thees companiez took on lot ov werk in ordr 2 serve video 2 ios devicez, cuz der existin systems wuz basd entirely on flash playr. but cuz flash playr iz not available on ios, dis wuz still teh least posible werk they cud doez — othr than not supporting ios devicez at all.

teh least amount ov werk thees companiez can doez nao, 2 continue serving video 2 chrome userz, iz 2 keep usin h.264-encoded video via flash playr. thar iz no sign dat any ov thees companiez share teh idealistic concernz ov h.264 opponents, an evry sign dat they’re satisfied wif h.264’s technical merits an legal status.

thus, dropping native h.264 playback frum chrome while still allowin h.264 playback via flash playr isnt goin 2 driv adoption ov webm. it jus meanz dat chrome userz will git h.264 via flash.

claim chowder: joe wilcox on verizon an apple

joe wilcox, on katurdai:

verizon isnt at&t. teh unitd states’ largest cellular carrir isnt accustomd 2 takin crap frum handset manufacturers. verizon controlz everythin on itz netwerk an iz quick 2 customize handsets wif itz software an servicez. […] perhapz 18 monthz ago, verizon wud has ceded moar 2 apple

i’ll leef teh claim chowder rundown 2 commenter “iphonedroidberry”:

so, 2 recap, her iz how verizon “takes no crap frum supplierz”, an how verizon “is in teh driver’s seat”, an how verizon “won’t cow b4 jobz” an how verizon “set teh termz ov teh deal”:

) no v-cast software
b) no verizon software/bloatware/crapware (ov der own or ov der partnerz)
c) no verizon sellin ov gamez music or appz
d) no verizon brandin on teh hardware
e) no verizon control ov software/firmware or updatez
f) no verizon control ov schedulin ov release dates 4 software updatez
g) no exclusivity deal 4 usa cdma vershun ov ifone

beyond dose tiny lil tings, if u overlook itemz thru g, yez, verizon iz definitely wearin teh pantz in teh apple/verizon relationship.

jon stewart on teh verizon ifone

seven-minute sketch on teh daily show, all bout teh verizon ifone an how shitty at&t iz. dis iz wut i mean bout dis bein biggr newz than all fone-relatd newz at ces combined.

(ironically an alas, teh video requirez flash playr.)

wut iz an app?

ian bogost:

i has been thinkin bout dis queshun lot ovar teh past yer. it cud sound silly, given teh ubiquity ov teh werd, but despite all teh “apps” on r fonez an webpages an othr devicez, me not sure we has gud sense ov wut it meanz, or wut dat meanin impliez.

i disagree wif hims analogy at teh end ov teh piece, but iz thoughtful taek, an i doez agree wif hims basic premise: dat thar’s somethin deeper goin on than mere shortening ov “application”.

linguists vote ‘app’ werd ov teh yer

teh ap:

teh tech slang “app” wuz voted teh 2010 “word ov teh yer” fridai by teh american dialect society, beating out cookie monster’s “nom, nom, nom, nom.”

teh shortened slang term 4 computr or smart fone applicashun wuz pickd by teh linguists group as teh werd dat best sums up teh country’s preoccupation last yer.

i dun finks thar can bees any argument dat apple pioneered dis usage, but iz still jus werd. dat’s wut we call computr applicashuns nao: appz. “apps”, no mattr hoo coined it, r not specific 2 apple platformz.

but: apple’s trademark applicashun isnt 4 jus plain “app”. they’re askin 4 trademark on “app store”. thar’s department store chain wif registered trademark 4 “christmas tree shops”. “teh container store” iz registered trademark. given dose, cud apple git “the app store”?

but: i wud finks dat i cud open store calld “the groober container store”, or “the darin fireball christmas tree shop”. i suspect dat wut apple wantz 2 block wif dis trademark applicashun iz somethin liek “webos app store” or “windows fone app store”. so teh moar i finks bout it, teh moar i finks microsoft iz rite, dat apple shouldn’t bees granted trademark on jus plain “app store”. iz true dat microsoft has trademark 4 “windows”, but they aren’t sellin akshul windowz. whereas apple’s app store iz literal store 4 appz.

‘make it better’

fun lil typographic animashun by climent canal an sebastián baptista.

6-yer google trends chart 4 ‘app’

thar’s decidd spike in mid-2008, an steady climb evr since. an if u check teh trend 4 “app store”, it doesn’t even exist as common search term til mid-2008.

i dun knoe whethr “app store” shud bees trademarkable. me leaning toward no, dat it iz 2 generic, an dat they shud only bees granted trademarkz 4 somethin app store — mac app store, ios app store, itunez app store, etc. but lot ov companiez has gotten trademarkz 4 pritee generic werdz when they’re usd in specific context. steve jobz has been usin teh werd “app” 4 as long as i remembr, easily bak 2 teh next yeers. i remembr thinkin it alwayz sounded awkward, 2 cutesy, whenevr he sed it, cuz it wasn’t in common usage.

microsoft seekz 2 block apple ‘app store’ trademark

bbc newz:

teh company sez teh term iz 2 generic an competitorz shud bees able 2 use it.

“an ‘app store’ iz an ‘app store’,” sed russell pangborn, microsoft’s associate general counsel. “like ‘shoe store’ or ‘toy store’, it iz generic term dat iz commonly usd by companiez, governments an individualz dat offr appz.”

“the term ‘app store’ shud continue 2 bees available 4 use by all without fear ov reprisal by apple.”

i agree. jus liek teh generic term “windows”. or “office”. update: c dis piece 4 furthr, bettr-reasoned thoughtz on dis.

prezident obama’s speech at teh memorial in arizona

vary gud speech. (iz encoded usin h.264, both wrapped in flash an as direct download. still lukingz 4 teh webm-encoded download link.)

ed bott on google’s h.264 / webm decishun

bott on h.264:

thar’s no royalty trap. teh fear implicit in dis entire argument iz dat when the h.264 license has 2 bees renewed in 2016, mpeg la will unconscionably raise dose rates. if dat fear wuz legitimate, wud moar than 800 companiez, includin google, has already decidd 2 license h.264? maybe they akshully read teh license agreement, which specifies dat “the license will bees renewable 4 successive five-yer periods 4 teh life ov any portfolio patent on reasonable termz an condishuns. … [f]or teh protection ov licensees, royalty rates applicable 2 specific license grants or specific licensd productz will not increase by moar than ten persent (10%) at each renewal.”

so teh most teh rates can go up iz 10 persent, once evry five yeers. yet lotz da ov teh supporterz ov chrome an mozilla’s posishun on h.264 vs. webm cite “uncertain future licensin” termz as primary reason. dun buy it.

hoo’s afraid ov teh verizon ifone?

marco arment, commenting on dis fine piece frum watts martin:

whenevr i has overheard conversations bout smartphones in real life, by “normal peeps” (not geeks liek us), it has alwayz been clear dat teh true battle happenin in teh u.s. fone markit wasn’t ifone versus android, but ifone versus verizon.

teh decishun dat peeps wuz discussing wasn’t “do i git an ifone or an android whatevr?”

it wuz alwayz “do i git an ifone or doez i stay on verizon?”

i git teh feelin dat vary few peeps except anti-apple geeks rly care bout android itself.

i concur. well soon c.

bgr: ‘apple will remove home button on next ipad an iphone’

on teh othr hand, jonathan geller reportz:

r source sed apple employeez r already testin ipads an ifonez wif no home buttons on teh apple campus, an iz posible we will c dis nu change materialize wif teh next-generashun ipad an ifone devicez set 2 launch dis yer.

well c, i gues. how in teh wurld wud u git home on an ifone usin five-finger pinch while holdin it in wan hand? teh ipad seemz liek “maybe”, but i find it rly hard 2 imagine home-button-les ifone. an even wif teh ipad, wut bout peeps hoo dun has five fingerz on wan hand? no ipad 4 them? teh ipad iz vary popular wif impaired userz. wut bout takin screenshotz?

can teh nu ios 4.3 switchin gesturez obviate teh home button?

bunch ov df readerz on twittr r wonderin whethr teh nu 4-finger gesturez in todai’s ios 4.3 developr beta suggest dat apple might remove teh home button frum future ios hardware. i finks not.

thees gesturez doez mean dat u dun has 2 use teh home button. but thar’s serious discoverability problem wif them. teh fysical home button iz impossible 2 mis. dat it iz teh wan an only button on teh facez ov thees devicez iz hooj part ov y normal peeps r able 2 pick them up, start playin wif them, an figure out how 2 git around wif no halp. how in teh wurld wud normal person figure out or gues dat they ned 2 doez “five-finger pinch” 2 git bak 2 teh home screen?

me not sayin thees r bad gesturez. but they’re liek keyboard shortcutz on teh mac. 4 any command u expect normal peeps 2 akshully find an use, thar needz 2 bees visual wai 2 find it. u can add keyboard shortcut 4 expert userz 2 memorize, but u can’t has only keyboard shortcut. same wif thees gesturez. o, an teh same goez 4 double-tapping teh home button 2 brin up teh switchin tray. most peeps dun even knoe bout dat. they dun ned 2. they jus tap once an switch tween appz usin teh regular home screen.

i dun finks teh ios home button iz goin anywhere.

manton reece on teh app store’s 30 persent cut

smart piece frum manton reece on teh frustrations developrz face dealing wif teh app store:

apple providez unique survis an iz der rite 2 charge whatevr they wants. developrz can chooz 2 pay it or restrict development 2 moar open platformz. me inclined 2 finks teh 30% iz high but not unreasonable 4 everythin apple hopes 2 provide.

but heers wer everythin breakz down: 4 $3000 i expect someone at apple 2 tell me wut teh $%!# iz goin on.

iz not jus review tiems, or emails dat go into teh void, unanzwerd 4 dais or weekz or evr. iz dat apple isnt able 2 communicate bout teh fundamental issuez dat will mak or break businesses.

if u knoe manton liek i doez, u realize how frustratd he iz 2 use strong werd liek “$%!#”. wan concrete problem manton faced: hims awsum clipstart spent seven weekz in teh approval queue 4 teh mac app store, wif no feedback regardin y. teh gud newz: it finally hit teh mac app store todai. (srsly, check it out; i use clipstart 4 storing all teh personal video i shoot.)

apple seedz ios 4.3 beta 2 developrz

highlightz: personal wi-fi hotspot 4 tethering (i.e., wut apple showd at teh verizon event yesterdai wuz in no wai exclusive 2 verizon), wider support 4 airplay streamin, an opshun 2 restore teh ipad’s side toggle 2 rotashun lock, an nu sistem-wide gesturez 4 app switchin.

windowz everywhere

gud piece by paul thurrott on teh “windows everywhere” filosofy dat iz ruining microsoft:

in fact, in q&last week, ballmr sed dat teh future wuz mainstream windowz, runnin on variety ov devicez, includin smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, traditional pcs, an servrz. if u’re windowz fone advocate, as i am, dat has 2 giv u pause. if u’re potenshul windowz fone customr, in fact, it shud mak u queshun teh future ov dis platform beyond ur 2-yer wireless netwerk commitment.

i, along wif lotz da otherz, has wondered y microsoft namd windowz fone 7 “windows”. it doesn’t look or act anythin liek windowz (teh pc os) or teh old windowz mobile. it feelz liek somethin brand nu, dat deservez nu naym. me wonderin nao if they calld it “windows fone” cuz callin it “windows” somethin wuz teh only wai they cud git it approvd by ballmr.

★ simple queshuns 4 google regardin chrome’s dropping ov h.264

regardin google’s statd explanashun 4 dropping h.264 support in chrome:

though h.264 playz an important role in video, as r goal iz 2 enable open innovation, support 4 teh codec will bees removd an r resourcez directed towardz completely open codec technologiez.

thees changez will occur in teh next couple monthz but we r announcin them nao 2 giv content publisherz an developrz usin html <video> an opportunity 2 mak any necessary changez 2 der siets.

  1. in addishun 2 supporting h.264, chrome currently bundles an embedded vershun ov adobe’s closed source an proprietary flash playr plugin. if h.264 support iz bein removd 2 “enable open innovation”, will flash playr support bees droppd as well? if not, y?

  2. android currently supportz h.264. will dis support bees removd frum android? if not, y not?

  3. youtube usez h.264 2 encode video. presumably, youtube will bees re-encoding itz entire library usin webm. when dis happenz, will youtube’s support 4 h.264 bees droppd, 2 “enable open innovation”? if not, y not?

  4. doez u expect companiez liek netflix, amazon, vimeo, major league baseball, an anyone else hoo currently streams h.264 2 dual-encode all ov der video usin webm? if not, how will chrome userz watch dis content othr than by resorting 2 flash playr’s support 4 h.264 playback?

  5. hoo iz happeh bout dis?

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★ bull’s-eyes an crosshairs

mutch attenshun iz nao bein paid 2 teh gunsight crosshair imagery sarah palin usd 2 target 20 congresspeople last yer, includin gabrielle giffords. sum ov dose defending palin r pointin 2 dis image frum teh democratic leadership council aftr teh 2004 elecshun. it usez bull’s-eye 2 mark “target” statez in teh then-next presidenshul elecshun. in nashun liek ours, wif itz history ov political assassinations by gun violence, i dun liek dat imagery, eithr. but thar r sum significant differencez. note, 4 example, dat teh logo 4 target, teh large discount department store chain, iz bull’s-eye, not crosshair.

tommy christophr at mediaite writez:

bullseye iz commonly associatd wif target practice, an as such, teh bullseye itself iz teh inert, nonliving target. crosshairs, on teh othr hand, represent teh mechanism by which target iz acquird an killd. it iz also an image dat resonates in popular culture thru countless repetitions, in films an television showz, ov teh assassin’s pov shot. dat teh intent wuz 2 evoke somethin liek bullseye (only wai tougher), an not teh spectre ov assassination, iz an obvious, yet moot, point. once dat reasonable objection wuz raisd, teh image shud has been abandoned.

dose pointin 2 dis dlc map r implying dat evryone, frum both sides, doez dis. no, they dun.

“ud has 2 bees crazy 2 taek dat sort ov rhetoric literally”, sum sai. “egsaktly”, i sai.

wuz teh mesage ov palin’s gunsight crosshairs intendd 2 bees taken literally? no. u knoe dat, an i knoe dat, cuz u an i r sane. but not evryone iz sane.

an jus how “obvious” iz teh figurative nachur ov such mesage in teh sort ov political climate wer sharron angle, teh republican candidate palin endorsd in teh nevada senate race against majority leader harry reid, sed in radio interview, “i’m hopin dat were not gettin 2 second amendment remedies. i hope teh vote will bees teh cure 4 teh harry reid problemz.”

heers teh entire text ov teh second amendment:

well regulated militia, bein necessary 2 teh security ov free state, teh rite ov teh peeps 2 keep an bear arms, shall not bees infringed.

how else can dat bees taken but dat plan iz 2 win teh elecshun, an plan b iz teh use ov firearms?

dis iz teh political context in which palin put crosshairs on her political opponents:

ms. giffords’ district office iz teh same dat had been vandalized — window brokd, perhapz wif pellet gun, teh police sed — late last march, aftr teh national health care bill passed wif support frum ms. giffords, hoo wuz known as “gabby” 2 her constituents.

aftr dat, durin her re-elecshun campaign, protesters gathered on most saturdays on teh same corner shouting an holdin signz dat sed tings liek “gabby, u’re gone.”

“on typical katurdai dis corner iz filled wif tea party protesters,” sed brenda tyler, hoo wuz wif her husband, lyndon. “i’ve seen signz sayin tings liek ‘it’s tiem 2 reload’ an ‘one wai or anothr, u’re gone.’” real estate agency in teh neighborhood had sign out frunt dat sed “goodbye gabby” an showd teh silhouette ov witch on broom,” she sed. it had been taken down on katurdai.

usin gunsight crosshairs 2 represent political opponent iz sick, undr any circumstances. but in context wer protestors hold signz readin “one wai or anothr, u’re gone” — wer teh republican senate candidate in nevada speaks openly ov “second amendment remedies” — iz dangerous. sum ov us has seen dis all along — includin, tragically, gabrielle giffords herself. lotz da moar c it nao, cuz ov yesterdai’s senseless, heartbreaking violence.

eugene mirman, on twittr:

iz not @sarahpalinusa’s fault violent undiagnosed schizophrenic shot dose peeps, but me supr-glad i didnt put up map liek dat.

she’s not responsible 4 wut happend. jared loughner iz. but she iz responsible 4 her own werdz an campaign material.

ov teh 20 congresspeople palin targeted wif dose adz, 18 ov them lost der seatz (includin 3 hoo retired an wuz succeeded by palin’s endorsd candidate). only 2 ov palin’s 20 “targets” wuz reelected, an wan ov them wuz shot thru teh brain at point-blank range yesterdai.1

if thar’s nothin wrong wif palin’s gunsight crosshair imagery, then me sure she’ll use it again in 2012.

  1. teh othr iz nick rahall, representin west virginia’s third district. (he’s erroneously listed as representin west virginia’s second district on palin’s target list.) ↩

★ y next week’s event iz hosted by verizon, not apple

so y iz next tuesdai’s announcement ov teh verizon ifone verizon-hosted event in nu york an not an apple-hosted event in cupertino? heers mah theory. apple iz fully aware dat when they sai “we’re havin an event next week”, peeps expect hooj newz an nu product. if they wuz hostin dis event, speculashun wud bees rampant dat it wud involve nu ipad an maybe an ifone 5, in addishun 2 teh expectd verizon deal. thar iz no nu apple product, though. we nerds knoe dat cdma ifone 4 iz different device than teh gsm ifone 4, but frum consumr perspectiv, iz teh same fone but jus werkz on different carrir. wut wud apple show? wut wud thar bees 2 demo?

dis iz teh sort ov ting wer apple needz 2 play it cool, an act liek dis iz jus anothr carrir. gud newz, but not hooj newz. teh bottom line frum apple iz goin 2 bees somethin liek, “we’re delighted 2 add verizon as an ifone carrir”. dat’s it.

an if verizon wantz 2 doez sum on-stage bragging bout teh wayz dat der netwerk iz bettr than at&t’s, apple can’t rly bees part ov dat. apple iz not leaving at&t 4 verizon. they’re addin verizon as peer 2 at&t. verizon can disparage at&t at verizon event. apple couldn’t let them doez dat at an apple event.

so, i’ll bees surprisd if jobz iz thar. i finks it’ll bees fil schiller or greg joswiak (or, hoo knowz, maybe even tim cook?). but john paczkowski reportz dat jobz will appear:

while teh appearance isnt 100 persent assured, sourcez in posishun 2 knoe tell me dat, barring any unforeseen circumstances, jobz will likely join mcadam onstage in nu york when he announces teh addishun ov teh ifone 2 itz handset lineup.

well c.

★ uniformity vs. individuality in mac ui design

teh nu twittr 4 mac iz somewhat polarizing, wut wif itz almost entirely custom ui. i usd 2 has fervor 4 uniform consistency in mac ui design. perusal thru teh early df archives will show dat. but teh hig iz ded. it did long ago. an it wuz apple dat killd it. in mac os 9 (an prior), no wan’s appz wuz moar uniformly consistent 2 teh hig standardz than apple’s own. in mac os x, apple began experimenting — especially in der flagship appz. whethr dis change has been 4 bettr or 4 worse iz certainly debatable, but thar can bees no debate dat teh mores ov mac ui designerz has changd. apple sets teh tone, 4 bettr or 4 worse. alwayz has, alwayz will. (no wan but apple cud has made brushed metal popular.)

dis piece todai by tim morgan offerz detaild an thoughtful critique ov teh mac app store titlebar/toolbar an teh nu twittr 4 mac — but iz critique frum teh perspectiv ov critic hoo still believez in hig-rooted uniformity.

i spent few minutez thar tryin 2 finks ov wai 2 rewrite teh precedin sentence without dat but. dat but soundz dismissive, liek me usin it 2 sai dat hims critisizm, no mattr how accurate, can bees dismissd, cuz he still subscribes 2 set ov standardz frum bygone era. dat’s not y i usd dat but, though. (or, 2 bees honest, at least not only y.) iz simply dat when u read morgan’s piece — an if u haven’t already, u shud as soon as u finish dis sentence — iz wurth keepin in mind which ov hims criticisms fall undr “this iz non-standard” an which fall undr “this isnt gud design”.

thar’s conservative/liberal sort ov fork in ui design, in teh sense ov traditional/non-traditional. teh conservatives c non-standard custom ui elementz as wrong. liberals c an app built usin nothin othr than standard sistem ui elementz as borin, old-fashioned, stodgy.

“dis iz non-standard” criticisms will thus generate wan ov 2 responsez. “agreed, dat’s wrong” sai teh conservatives. “so wut?” sai teh liberals.

“this isnt gud design” criticisms, howevr, if accurate, r teh sort ov ting most designerz ought 2 agree wif, regardles ov der posishun on teh conservative/liberal ui design spectrum. teh problem iz dat once u c dat certain piece ov ui critisizm iz comin frum someone at distant posishun frum urz on teh conservative/liberal design spectrum, thar’s natural tendency 2 close ur mind an discount everythin they sai.

2 bees clear, heers teh app were talkin bout:

Screenshot of Twitter for Mac 2.0

no title bar. completely custom close/minimize/zoom buttons (which ignore ur sistem-wide settingz 4 color; no red/yellow/green 4 u). u drag teh window usin dat black sidebar. iz all set in helvetica (liek ios appz), not lucida grande (liek mac appz).

but let’s also bees clear bout wer teh app iz comin frum: loren brichter’s tweetie 4 mac:

Screenshot of Twitter for Mac 2.0

brichter, nao fol-tiem employee ov twittr, iz still teh app’s primary developr. iz been renamed frum “tweetie” 2 “twitter”, but teh vershun numbr has gone 2 2.0 cuz wut we has todai iz teh next vershun ov teh same app. u can c it in teh screenshotz. same direcshun, jus furthr out thar.

morgan’s complaintz bout teh mac app store app an hims inishul remarkz bout twittr r ov teh conservative variety: non-standard windowz an ui elementz r wrong. but then thar’s dis:

clickin on teh different tabs in teh main window (tweetz, listz, mentions, etc.) revealz teh corresponding content wif “slide out” animashun.  upon openin teh applicashun, u r presented wif ur timeline.  click teh “@” an ur mentions slide out on top ov teh timeline.  click teh timeline again, an u wud expect perhapz 4 teh mentions 2 slide bak in, revealing ur timeline, but instead ur timeline slidez out on top ov ur mentions. dis endles sliding out creates sensation ov “stacking” ui views infinitely on top ov each othr, when in fact u r merely switchin tween 6 different tab views.

dat’s quite astute, an pinpoints somethin i findz mildly unsettling bout teh nu twittr 4 mac but couldn’t put mah finger on. ios usez thees sliding animashuns 2 giv u sense ov place. teh canonical example iz mail on teh ifone. iz 4-column design: accounts, mailboxez, mesage list, mesage contentz. u slide left 2 rite, visually, as u navigate tween columnz. u can’t c moar than wan column at tiem, but teh animashuns halp giv u sense ov wer u r. iz cuz ov teh animashun dat apple cud mak 4-column layout wif screen dat wuz only 320 pixels wide.

twittr 4 ifone follows dis model 2 t: accounts, tweetz, tweet detailz — arranged left 2 rite, wif animashun as u moov tween them. in todai’s nu twittr 4 mac, though, teh sliding animashuns when u switch tween tabs add nothin contextually. they’re not merely harmless eye candy, eithr. as morgan notez, thees animashuns create false sense ov stacking wer no stack existz. they’re technically awsum,1 but conceptually misleadin.2

dat’s teh sort ov critisizm dat shud registr regardles ov wan’s posishun on teh standard-vs.-custom ui design spectrum.

as 4 wer tings r goin, i finks dis nu twittr 4 mac an teh ipad-esque mac app store app r it. morgan closez wif reference 2 urz truly:

groober once sed (an 4 teh life ov me i can’t find teh quote) dat teh difference tween teh mac os an ios iz dat u dun ned 2 bees designr 2 mak gud-lukingz mac app: apple providez u teh assetz u ned; if u adhere 2 common sense an teh hig, u will create gud-lukingz (if not unique) applicashun. on teh ios, all teh best appz has had enormous amounts ov design effort investd in them. as teh app store (an os x 10.7) blur teh linez tween ios an mac os, i fear we cud lose dis distincshun as well.

whethr u finks dis iz gud ting or not, thar’s no use fearing it. apple’s passion 4 ui uniformity went away wif teh 6-color logo. change iz inevitable. individuality iz teh nu norm. mac ui design iz only jus startin 2 taek influence frum ios ui design.

  1. wut brichter has dun, i bleev, iz moar or les rite hims own uikit — replacement 4 appkit basd on core animashun. teh old tweetie 4 mac usd quite bit ov animashun, an it lookz gud. but teh nu twittr 4 mac usez animashun far moar extensively, an teh animashun has quite different feelz 2 it. iz far moar ios-liek, an dat iz strong complement. tryin flipping around teh app wif teh shift key held down, 2 watch them in slow moshun. they’re exquisite. ↩

  2. teh animashuns in tweetie 4 mac 1.2 mak conceptual sense. in teh sidebar, teh tabs r stacked top-2-bottom: timeline, repliez, dms. as u switch tween thees tabs, teh content views slide in not frum teh left or rite, but frum teh top or bottom, corresponding 2 teh relative positions in teh sidebar ov teh tab u’re switchin frum 2 teh wan u’re switchin 2. ↩