Bandwidth caps never necessary
The carriers blame a small proportion of their users with hogging all the available bandwidth on their networks and thus explain why their networks are so slow. They then use this excuse to cap and throttle their users, us, and to charge us more per month. I call bullshit. There is plenty of backbone bandwidth available, its cheap and its getting cheaper, and carriers buy it in bulk. There is just no rational profit in it.
My Favorite Mac Apps of 2011
I’ve compiled a list of my favorite Mac apps for 2011. Just wanted to mention the ones that make my life that much easier. I am intentionlly excluding all built-in applications or anything from Apple, such as iWork, iLife and Aperture which are mainstays.
Some you may know, some you may not.
Misconceptions About iOS Multitasking
There is a meme going aroung that you need to terminate applications on your iOS device to prevent the device from slowing down, running out of memory or chewing up battery. Rubbish. In iOS, if it aint on the screen or playing music, it aint running and it aint using memory or battery. Fraser Spiers has the technical details if you want them here.
The coming war on general computation
Excellent talk by Cory Doctorow on The coming war on general computation, transcript here, talking about the war between copyright holders and reality, and why it needs to be fought: So when I get into a car – a computer I put my body into – with my hearing aid – a computer I put inside my body – I want to know that these technologies are not designed to keep secrets from me, and to prevent me from terminating processes on them that work against my interests.
The definition of open
The tweet that was, then was not, then was again, saved for claim chowder: For most of 2011, while this tweet was not, the git repo of Android was 2 versions behind.
Get it brilliant
I wrote a post in September 2011 in the Noverse Blog called Get It Brilliant on the what you really need to achieve to create amazing software products. They are: Get it Designed Get it Architected Get it Working Get it Right Get it Fast Get it Intuitive Get it Out Looking back, it sure was not one of my finest writing efforts, but the concepts are important. Since that article was written, I have worked on two products that you will see early next year.
The difference between drivers and passengers
Douglas Rushkoff, Author of Program or Be Programmed, in an interview on ReadWriteWeb A lot of us our too willing to accept roles as consumers in society. I understand the economic reasons for that, but I don’t think it leads to a fulfilling life or a sustainable community. The best way out of this is to deconstruct what you’re consuming, or better yet to become a creator yourself. I create software.
Creating games in genres you hate
Ben Kuchera, writing in Ars Technical in SpellTower on iOS shows power of creating games in genres you hate resonates with me because I do dislike word games, yet I really enjoy SpellTower. “It’s not just about knowing words, it’s about knowing when and where to use words,” Gage explained. “The difficulty also gives the game a weight that I don’t think games like Bookworm have. Because it has constant micro goals—such as don’t let this column touch the top, bring down this column so I can make words later, or clear out some blank tile—players’ moves always have importance to them.
Lodsys still trolling
Jacqui Cheng over at Ars Technica reminds us that iOS developers go into 2012 still battling patent troll Lodsys. Of course she interviewed Mike Lee: “We analyzed the ubiquitous criminal nature of these companies,” Lee told Ars. “There is nothing you can do to prevent yourself from being targeted, regardless of platform, and regardless of how careful you are, because this is not patent infringement, it is simple extortion, and it is worldwide.
Bogus copyright claims under SOPA
Mike Masnyck, writing in Techdirt asks a valid question: Shouldn’t There Be Significant Punishment For Bogus Copyright Claims That Kill Companies? If enforcing their rights involves completely destroying someone else’s company, then, as Goldman notes, shouldn’t it be difficult? Fighting a copyright claim costs at least 1 million dollars in legal fees, whether or not the claim is valid. Companies with deep pockets can and do use bogus claims to road-kill new competitors.