Month: August 2009

Imagine if rather than downloading software, you could download products. I’m talking real objects like furniture, tools, and even electrical goods. In other words, a multitude of man made objects which would usually be produced in a factory somewhere in China. Well, it might sound crazy, but that’s exactly what the developers of the “self-replicating rapid prototyper” or “RepRap” are dreaming of.

The first obvious question is, how the hell is this supposed to work? In short, a specially adapted 3D printer will be able to “print-out” the blueprints of the objects that you download. RepRap’s motto is “Wealth without money” and that’s the exciting aim of the project. It embodies the essence of freeware because after all, that’s exactly what all the freeware we download everyday is – free products that add value to your life. The developers point out that, through printers we already have the power to start our own printing press. The RepRap project simply aims to take that concept a step further.

Continue reading “Is RepRap the future for downloading?”

Apple has been getting a lot of flak recently, from us as well as elsewhere. People aren’t happy the the iPhone App Store isn’t allowing Google Voice, or in general about the policy of not allowing any app that does something already available from Apple.

Apple is scared of competition, stifling innovation and generally annoying people by not doing whatever it is people want. I’m not sure things should have got so bad, despite my earlier claim they might be losing their cool.

It is certainly true that if Microsoft was seen as being this controlling today, it would get roasted by the press (as it has done in the past). But I think Microsoft are in a very different position, as they have a massive market lead over the rest, and unless you can pay more for an Apple,  or are brave enough for the uber-tech-nerd world of Linux, you will use Microsoft. So they’d better listen to people, as people mostly aren’t using them by choice.

But you choose to use a Mac, or to buy an iPhone. Apple products are beautifully designed, incredibly user friendly, and generally don’t crash. People loved the iPhone when it came out, but now it’s being demonized for not being able to do something it has never been able to do. Maybe the iPhone would be improved with Google Voice –  but it’s no worse without it. It seems a great deal of this is that users feel they are being denied a free service, but you can’t blame companies for wanting to maintain revenue.

To me, people are wrongly assuming that because they own a product, they have a say in its development. They don’t. Apple, like Nintendo, make incredible products by not listening to people, and being secretive. There may be odd things that other companies do better, but none of them get the whole package as right as the iPod and Mario creators. When lowly users are allowed to get involved, you get a big mess as the Simpsons showed us years ago with “The Homer” automobile.

As for exploding iPods: that just sounds cool!

Writer and philosopher Albert Camus once said “The slave begins by demanding justice and ends by wanting to wear a crown.” Ok, this quote might not be entirely appropriate to Apple’s growth into a software giant but the spirit behind it is. Big business can be a dirty game – I’ve got no qualms about that. But Apple have always promoted themselves as innovators par excellence and it irks me somewhat that their attitude towards innovation based on their own products is becoming increasingly anti-competitive.

Of course, it’s unrealistic to expect a major corporation to welcome applications that could rival their own with open arms. But Apple’s recent decision to reject the Google Voice iPhone app displays an ugly tendency by Apple to block anything that threatens its position. The poor excuse used by Apple was it already offers functionality available on the iPhone. This particular decision now hangs a big question mark over whether Spotify will be accepted by the Apple iPhone store as I questioned last week. A decision to reject that too would symbolize yet another unacceptable blow by Apple to a superbly innovative application that could provide the blueprint for music distribution in the digital age.

To be fair to Apple, the acceptance or rejection of Spotify for iPhone will be a much greater indicator of its true attitude towards innovation than the Google Voice iPhone app. The FCC in America have stepped-in to investigate that particular case because it’s been suggested that it may actually be mobile network AT&T (who distribute iPhones in the USA) that put pressure on Apple to reject it, based on the fact that they obviously don’t want people using their iPhones to make calls and send texts for free. Spotify on the other hand is a direct competitor to Apple’s own iTunes and the decision to reject or accept it will be Apple’s alone.

However, as Jon pointed out earlier this year, censorship of applications is nothing new to Apple. He highlighted the increasing lack of credibility they suffered when they initially rejected an app which linked to “offensive” song lyrics and an e-book reader that, shock-horror, would allow you to read a version of the Karmasutra translated from the 1800’s. Albeit, these were widely interpreted as a knee-jerk reaction to Apple’s decision to withdraw the tasteless Baby Shaker application.

Meanwhile an indication of Apple’s “bullying” business tactics when it comes to hardware were illustrated by its recent decision to silence exploding iPod victims with gag orders. One particular British iPod owner, who heard a hissing sound from his daughter’s increasingly hot iPod, threw it into the garden to see it explode 10 feet into the air. Although he only requested a refund, he was demanded to sign a gagging order that would allow Apple to take legal action against him if he or his family ever revealed the terms of the settlement being offered.

The bigger question here is what gives Apple the right to dictate what can and can’t be installed on an a piece of hardware once someone has shelled-out the cash for it? Not even Microsoft – the embodiment of the monopolistic business practices in software – would even go so far as to dictate what can and can’t be installed on a Windows Mobile device for example. The evidence is mounting – Apple has it’s eye on the crown and it won’t let the spirit of innovation that has brought it so far stand in its way.

Windows: SmarterFox is a neat little add-on for Firefox that can really speed up your browsing. It adds functions to your right-click context menu, allowing you to easily search Wikipedia, Google in a click. You can also download all links or images from the page your viewing without hassle. For such a little program, SmarterFox is pretty impressive.

Mac: If Firefox ever does go down the wrong road or starts to decline, then Flock could be one of the main contenders to take its place. It’s based on the same engine, only with a greater focus on social networking integration. Flock 2 is the second major release of this excellent browser, with most of the improvements relating to enhanced security and performance.

iPhone: The default battery life indicator on the iPhone looks nice, but isn’t the most precise way of telling how much time you have left before your next charge. Step forward BatteryStatus, a free application that gives you a more accurate guide to what you can do on your remaining charge. It assess how much longer you will be able to talk, use the Internet, leave idle, etc.