ra88it

The iPhone did not exist before Apple released it. Is that controversial?

You could even hit 'Send'. The email would go out automatically at the next opportunity.

Somebody mentioned The Sirens of Titan (Vonnegut) in the comments below. I've gotta second that recommendation. It's Vonnegut's first novel, and probably not his best, but it's certainly my favorite.

If you resonate at all with Vonnegut's humor and pathos, then please oh please grab a copy of Sirens. I'm tired of being the only one at the dinner table who's read it!

Interesting. Is this a widely accepted theory, that leaderboards are a community design anti-pattern?

From my experience, leaderboards are compelling and rewarding even though I know I'll probably never make it to the top. I just like to watch my percentile rank improve.

EDIT: I just saw your response to the other comment. Cool!

Apparently Javascript is given an explicit exception.

No. The prices seem to be less than the paper versions, and the books can be purchased per chapter. Seems like a good start.

Is somebody arguing that it is different?

> Apple is a monopoly in the sense that I can't drag and drop mp3 files into my iphone.

Having a hard time with this one. Can you please explain how this makes Apple a monopoly?

The fact that you didn't know this is evidence that you've been following your own advice. Bravo!

Personally I'm skeptical of most of the conclusions I've read about ego depletion. I think it's like anything else: there's a balance to be found between self control and self release. And the more you work at it, the more you can yield and still stay balanced.

There's nothing stopping a developer from hosting a web page for his app, which would be page-ranked. And there's nothing stopping me from making an app choice based on evidence other than the in-store reviews. Apps are linked to and discussed and reviewed in all sorts of places all over the web. It works like a charm.

I would love to see side-loading become available for the iPhone, but, knowing Apple, I don't expect it and I don't think Apple should be obliged to provide it.

It's too late for me to edit my original post, but I should have written this line:

> The only pragmatic argument against Apple's app store policies

Like this:

> The only pragmatic argument against Apple's app store policies with respect to average app quality

I'm only talking about average app quality here, and whether we can conclude anything about Apple's store policies affecting app quality. I would like to see evidence that a more open policy would yield higher quality apps.

Also: I am not arguing that the web is the same as Apple's app store except insomuch as general users needn't care about the average unit's quality. My appreciation for a single well designed app is not impacted by 100 terrible apps that I will never encounter.

> people rely on their search engine or on their friends recommendations (first by email, now by Facebook/Twitter), not on some central authority.

This applies to the app store as well as to the web. I use email and Facebook and Twitter to get recommendations for apps (whether for Android or the iPhone). I don't rely on Apple to tell me what app to use.

Who cares about the percentage of shit in the app store? It's not like you have to sift through all the apps manually. Think about all the web pages on the internet. Does the web have a better batting average than the app store? Does it matter?

The only pragmatic argument against Apple's app store policies (IMO), is that companies cannot be confident enough to invest heavily in an application that has yet to be approved by Apple. But I don't know for sure that this is a big problem. I'm watching the Android marketplace closely, and I'm not convinced that Apple should change course yet.

There is an iPad app called AudioNote that does what you describe:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audionote-notepad-voice-recor...

I haven't tried it yet, but I think I'll grab the free version and give it a whirl.

Yes, but then why does he say 'keep in mind that the robot can be used by multiple people'. Is this any different than, say, two people sharing a pencil?

"...$15,000 per unit. That may sound a little steep, but keep in mind that the robot can be used by multiple people, though only one can be logged in at a time."

What does that even mean?

I've known about this for awhile, but I didn't realize it had flags. -F is awesome!

However, I can't kill it will ctrl-c even when I set the -e flag. Is that supposed to be part of the joke?

Will the Apple store readily exchange your iPhone 4 if it demonstrates this problem?

I don't know that it makes such a big difference, but I'm trying to figure out what's going on in Ebert's brain. (Personally, I disagree with his thesis.)

I wonder if he would agree that a single instance of a video game having been played could be art. A specific playthrough. Therefore not open-ended.

EDIT: I'm thinking about famous games of Go that are now considered (by some) to be works of art. And I'm making the tenuous jump to video games, where the final 'work' of art is a collaboration between the player(s) and the designers of the game.

You are probably right about this being a concession to the music labels, but that's just music. Not everything in the iTunes store has to work that way. For instance, apps that you buy can be re-downloaded at no charge.

Wow. I've been waiting for a way to buy some Vertigo comics since I bought my iPad. I'm thrilled that they decided to go with Comixology (makers of the Marvel iPhone app). I'm going to grab the first copy of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman as soon as I get home tonight!

Apple introduced in-app purchasing with iOS version 3 (if memory serves). So this sort of thing has been possible for about a year. Not sure why Amazon hasn't taken advantage of this.

There are two ways to seem smart:

1) Over-complicate everything.

2) Over-simplify everything.

Aaron's essay describes the former. It, and this comment, are examples of the latter.

I took it to mean that he has to think and experiment each time he's learning a new shortcut, not each time he uses the shortcut. (Because I've had the same experience.)

Hmmmmm. Or maybe Apple thinks it resembles a desktop simply because there are UI components on top of a background image?

The picture of the app on the dev's website doesn't look like a 'desktop'. Surely there is some other component in the UI that does resemble a desktop. Anybody have a link to a better screenshot?

Not if it's muted, which mine is 90% of the time.

>> but when you read the whole thing it seems that RMS likes to change his opinion as he receives more information.

Seems like a good trait to have.

I appreciate the link, but the article describes a wide range of fluids for various purposes. I didn't read it super-carefully, but I don't think this purpose was mentioned.

I'm curious about what they plan to use tomorrow. And, like you, I'd really like to hear somebody describe the mechanism by which it would work.

Anybody know what the "heavy drilling fluids" are composed of?