Anyone who doesn't want to play can take their ball and go home

I'd like to just make a quick note to Cory D and other FSF, EFF, GPL, etc zealots who don't seem to understand how the market really works.

Apple is succeeding with the App Store and the hardware that carries it, not in spite of the controls, but because of them. The overall quality of software on the App Store rises for those controls, and there has been far fewer cases of malware slipping past the approval process than the Android Marketplace (Android users, at least feel better that any malware written for that platform probably won't run on every device anyways). Both Android and Palm marketplaces have had to block or pull apps to make their partner networks happy too, for the record, so don't feel like Apple is somehow alone in saying no to certain things. That the others have ways to install apps outside their respective marketplaces is not really relevant: Most users don't know how to, and they take their devices operation into their own hands when they do.

Any developer who doesn't want to follow the EULA still has options. They can always just, you know, not develop for the iPhone – If the marketplace just isn't right for your special needs, find another one, let me know how that works out.... I'm sure the Palm and Android markets will be happy to have you. You can still develop as a web application, without any checks to the content you're offering. Hey, then you can get all the Palm and Android users too.

Last item. Don't tell the tech journalists out there, but you can still get porn on the iPhone.... There's this amazing app called Safari! Seriously.... We all know Apple was going to be tar-and-feathered the first time Fred Thompson or some other "save our children" lawyer got wind of a nipple on the app store. By preempting the discussion Apple is just protecting themselves from the media storm from that, for it would be worse. Ask the folks who make GTA about such things.... If you want to pick on anyone, pick on the folks who attack platform providers for their content, not the platform providers who are just trying to stay in business.

iPhone developer EULA turns programmers into serfs: "The Electronic Frontier Foundation has published the Apple iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, a secretive document that requires its signatories to agree to a gag order on the terms of the deal. EFF got the agreement by submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to NASA, who had signed onto it in order to release its app. EFF Senior IP Attorney Fred von Lohmann has some pithy analysis of just how awful this agreement is for the programmers who gets sucked into it:

Overall, the Agreement is a very one-sided contract, favoring Apple at every turn. That's not unusual where end-user license agreements are concerned (and not all the terms may ultimately be enforceable), but it's a bit of a surprise as applied to the more than 100,000 developers for the iPhone, including many large public companies. How can Apple get away with it? Because it is the sole gateway to the more than 40 million iPhones that have been sold. In other words, it's only because Apple still 'owns' the customer, long after each iPhone (and soon, iPad) is sold, that it is able to push these contractual terms on the entire universe of software developers for the platform.

In short, no competition among app stores means no competition for the license terms that apply to iPhone developers.

If Apple's mobile devices are the future of computing, you can expect that future to be one with more limits on innovation and competition (or 'generativity,' in the words of Prof. Jonathan Zittrain) than the PC era that came before. It's frustrating to see Apple, the original pioneer in generative computing, putting shackles on the market it (for now) leads. If Apple wants to be a real leader, it should be fostering innovation and competition, rather than acting as a jealous and arbitrary feudal lord. Developers should demand better terms and customers who love their iPhones should back them.

It's amazing all the ways that the iPhone manages to screw the people that love it: saddling iPhone owners with crappy contracts with abusive mobile companies, limiting their access to programs and forcing them into one-sided EULAs, then screwing the developers with equally abusive agreements. I guess that's one way to think different.

"

Sidewiki as part of the old vision of the Web

Annotation has always been part of what I'd like to see, extending the metadata and relevance of every nook and crannie of the Web.

Now that Chrome has Sidewiki support via Extensions, I'll be trying to use it more and reporting on what other people seem to be adding....

in reference to: http://www.google.com/profiles/kris.browne (view on Google Sidewiki)

Playing with iPod touch after months of palm pre

We got our Palm Pres from Sprint a few months ago now. On their own, solid interface on toy-quality hardware.

However, before using Sprint I had been using a prepay iPhone (1st gen). I gave it up because AT&T here has horrible reception, and the deposit to get us on a family plan was rediculous.

After dabbling in WebOS on the pre, I wanted to see how the iPod Touch/iPhone OS held up, and borrowed an iPod Touch.

The schtick of WebOS is supposed to be multitasking, followed by Synergy. The problem is that all too often the pre gets so bogged down that even critical functions (phone calls, for example) become unusable. The iPod on the other hand has a few tasks which always run with priority, and all the other programs run one at a time. The startup of most programs, and the state saving built into most, makes switching programs usually feel like they never quit.

Synergy is, for now, the saving grace of webos. Enter google, facebook, exchange, and now yahoo accounts, and your contacts, calendars, email and chat are woven together like a single continuum. All this happens without changing the accounts or using a desktop computer, works well, and has a decent interface. Apple could learn a lot from that, and if I were Steve, looking at what to do with my big pile of cash, I would buy palm to get the intellectual properties of Synergy and improve the iPhone with it.

No matter how good Synergy is... The hardware and software quality of the Apple products blows the palm out of the water... And if Apple brought the iPhone to Sprint I'd toss the Pre in a heartbeat.

Warhammer Online Classes

Since the Mac beta of Warhammer Online was released, I have been playing whenever I could sneak in a little time with it, trying to see how I liked it.

So far, I have found it to be far better for the sporadic gaming I can sneak in lately, and has some fun things they have learned to do better from watching World of Warcraft.

One of the things I like best is the mechanics around the different classes. Unlike other games, Warhammer Online has different classes for each race and faction, with each race having 4 class or roles filled. Mostly, those are a Tank, a physical DPS, a Utility class and a Caster of some sort. Each operates differently, so each is a new experience, though each faction, Order or Destruction, has roughly the same capabilities. Here is a breakdown of roles, classes, and mechanics, paired by similar styles rather than by opposing factions.

Tanks

Empire - Knight of the Burning Sun. This class has aura like effects mostly enhancing teammates.

Chaos - Chosen. Behemoths of armor who have debuff auras.

High Elves - Swordmaster. Each main attack builds from a previous, building and using balance to weave through fights.

Greenskins - Black Orc. A mishmash of armor protects these giants while they string attacks which build off each other.

Dwarves - Ironbreaker. These warriors build grudge points from each blow they receive, and can designate a friend who they can also receive grudges when they are attacked. These Grudges fuel their special attacks. Lower DPS but extremely hard to kill.

Dark Elves - Black Guard. Attacks from these weapon masters are fueled by Hate, which builds when they attack or are attacked.

Physical DPS

Empire - Witch Hunter. These are lightly armored, fast, high DPS characters, whose attacks build from 0 to 5 points, which can then be used to fuel high power special attacks. Adding to their powers, they can go stealthy to ambush their prey.

Dark Elves - Witch Elf. Wearing almost no armor, these female-only brawlers also build combo points, and can go stealthy, but focus more on debuff attacks to devastate their opponents.

High Elves - White Lions. This is the Pet class of the Order side, with a Lion pet who will provide a moderate tank or second damage source. Aside their pets, the White Lions themselves are balanced between melee and ranged DPS, using their pet to draw attention and then flank their opponent.

Greenskins - Squig Herder. The Goblins have pets named Squigs, which come in a variety depending on desired tactics. While only controlling one at a time, they can call melee, tank, ranged or debuff pets, complemented by their own ranged attacks.

Dwarves - Slayer. These self-sacrificing berserkers make up for their stature through fervor. As they attack and take damage, they build up power and get stronger, though over a certain amount they lose control and become easier to damage.

Greenskins - Choppa. Matching their Dwarven bretherin, the Choppa is a hulking goliath of destruction. Another berserker class, they get stronger but easier to hit as they enrage.

High Elves - Shadow Warrior. These ranger-like characters excel at either melee or ranged fighting, taking stances which elevate certain skills depending on situation.

Chaos - Marauders. These flexible and ferocious mutants change forms to adapt to a variety of playstyles, all close combat focused but choosing between defense, sustained DPS, or critical DPS

Dwarves - Engineers. These don't have another physical counterpart, their closest analogue being the Magus caster, but they are sentry, trap, and explosive fighters, a sort of utility DPS which provides long-range support and critical location defense.

Casters

Empire - Bright Wizard. These fire-focused magic users kick out extremely high damage, but if they aren't careful the fire-magic they use can combust within them causing self-damage. While the risk of explosion is dangerous, as they risk more they get higher critical damage and chances.

Dark Elves - Sorceress. Flexible elemental and dark magic casters. As they use Dark magic, it builds up within them, the chaos potentially backfiring and causing massive injuries.

Dwarves - Rune Priest. A utility healer, these casters focus on mending and buffing their teammates, but also have some moderate offensive spells.

Chaos - Zealot. Another Utility healer, but balanced well with offensive capabilities. To offset those damage spells though, they are extremely squishy if the enemy gets too close.

Empire - Warrior Priest. A balance of DPS and healing, these clerics must fight close to combat to build the righteous fury which fuels their healing, and must balance the roles to play effectively.

Dark Elves - Desciple of Khaine. Another fighter/healer, they must fight to fuel their healing abilities, but offer some debuff type attacks to help in combat as well.

High Elves - Archmage. A balance of offense and defense makes these casters awfully fun to play and powerful. Damaging attacks buff later heals, and healing improves attack spells, so a good player can help in both roles well.

Greenskin - Shaman. These Goblins balance attack and healing spells, each type of spell benefitting the other when cast in succession.

Chaos - Magus. An offensive caster who can summon stationery demons to defend or assist in attacking. Needs some range to defend themselves, and summons take time, so need to pick your strategy from afar.

Conclusion

24 classes overall, with 12 distinct mechanics between them. Depending on your play preferences, one of them should fit nicely and let you play as you like.

For more information on each class, Ten Ton Hammer has a great summary and strategy page: Warhammer Online Class Guides

Privateer: Ascii Sector - The Official Website

Really trying hard to finish homework so I can play this.

[From Privateer: Ascii Sector - The Official Website]

WOOO Google Reader + NetNewsWire = WIN

I have loved NetNewsWire for many years now. I fully believe it is the best desktop newsreader that exists.

Today's announcement that NewsFire is plugging it into Google Reader instead of their own online newsreader as a backend brings together two products I love, and makes me a VERY happy camper.

NetNewsWire Beta (Now with more Google)

Listened to: Invisible Touch from the album "Invisible Touch" by Genesis

Trying new things with Skype: Public chat rooms

Skype Features hosted by kris.browne.

Join now

---

Chat about what's on your mind. More about public chats.

James Bond: Casino Royale - 3 versions.

Just watched the first incarnation of James Bond on screen - in this case the small screen. An episode of the TV show Climax! which centered entirely on the big game of Baccarat with La Chiffre, and rather ignored the center of the dramatic tension of the game, the last big bluff.

Having seen that, I have now viewed all three adaptations of the story, and the latest one really does capture the essence best.

The 1954 Climax! episode, like I said, took a lot of dramatic license with the story, fit it to only an hour, and in some ways missed the point of the character. On the other hand, Peter Lorre as La Chiffre was charming, and the black and white of the television enhanced a noir sentiment.

The Second version, 1967's Casino Royale, was a farce, a spoof, but with a fantastic cast, and while it too played loose with the details, the comedic essence is bold and schizophrenic, and it's worth seeing once.

The most recent in 2006, Daniel Craig's entry into the James Bond family, is mostly a straightforward adaptation of the novel, captures the original Fleming character better than any Bond before save possibly George Lazenby, and though the game is changed from Baccarat to Poker, it helps the audience embrace the tension at the table because so many are now familiar with Stud Poker through it's recent popularity - They understand what's going on better, and they can identify with the possibilities of how the game could resolve itself.

It's rare that I take a modern version of something over a classic, but in this case Hollywood has finally brought a definitive version of this classic to screen.