For those who keep asking for the link to the Android platform “augmented reality” app, here is the video and related article.
Apple is going to be hating the competition once everyone has these as an open platform… too bad they are 2 years ahead of everyone else 
Steve Jobs knows what people need, period. As such the following quote is well suited:
“Java’s not worth building in. Nobody uses Java anymore. It’s this big heavyweight ball and chain.”
Sun’s announcement that they will create a Java platform for the iPhone is like a wet noodle hitting the ground. “Plop”… who cares! The very specific wording used in the Apple iPhone SDK is as follows:
An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and built- in interpreter(s).
Thus the only way Sun can maybe enable Java on the iPhone is to create a developer API / library that is used to build standalone Java applications. These could then be sold individually on the Apple store, if Apple permits this. This of course would also prohibit a Java runtime and the running of local jar files. The last thing I need on an iPhone is another layer of interpreted byte code so I can see some shitty swing interface, some slow running monstrosity, a java.io.exception, and random reboots. For that, I have a Blackberry 8800. I think I will take a silky smooth UI that has $100 million in application innovations around the corner. Apple knows best for consumer electronics. Also, some great slashdot comments (1 2) on this issue!
post title concept from Digital Daily
A friend recently hit me with some good advice via IM: “Hang in there Manfred.” (Thats a reference to Accelerando for those not in the know)
The way William Gibson describes the future seems to fit better every year. “The future is already here – it is just unevenly distributed.” Most of the technologies that appeared in 07 were measurably cool: the iPhone, the end of analog TV, GPS in cars & phone / blue tooth proliferation, Moore’s law and multi-core CPU’s, etc., etc. These are things that a number of years ago I looked forward to the way I now look forward to neural nanonics, private space flight, bioengineering, and other amazing stuff. Now they appear rather blah, about as exiting as a car or television set. The future is already here alright. I guess I just need to be more patient.
However it was a good year in the reading department. Accelerando by Charles Stross, Spook Country by William Gibson, The Night’s Dawn Trilogy (paperbacks 1 2 3 4 5 6) by Peter F. Hamilton to name some of most interesting ones. Of course Cory Doctorow and the usual crowd had some excellent blog posts. Penny Arcade had some truly great comics reminding yet again that “my people” are out there and going strong. 2007 certainly had an abundance of daily slack to consume.
I’m still holding out hope for my tribe. I expect we will continue to kick some ass and make sure things end up OK, preferably with lots of super bad ass scientific stuff.
Here’s to 2008 and the pursuit of slack and knowledge!
Good thing we have this brilliant insight out there from the geniuses at Gartner:
If AT&T announces that it will be marketing the phone to enterprise customers, “we’d be against it,” said Ken Dulaney, an analyst with Gartner, who said he hasn’t heard of such a plan from the operator. “We’d immediately tell our customers that’d be a very serious mistake.”
No matter what kind of reputation a vendor has, if it’s making its first phone, Dulaney would be unlikely to recommend it. “Building a phone is one of the most difficult things to do,” he said.
Brilliant and well thought out analysis. Almost as amazing as this little gem:
Companies like to extend corporate apps to the mobile space and in order to do that you need an open OS
Wow, what a show stopper. Oh wait, the iPhone has a browser. Ever heard of the web? Sheesh, who is going to write java apps for mobile devices when you have web applications!