An actual reason to install iPhone OS 3 while it's in beta

App Store submissions are now being reviewed on iPhone OS 3.0
Originally uploaded by fullerbecker

Apple says "App Store submissions are now being reviewed on iPhone OS 3.0" so of course I'd really best test it myself before submitting, eh?

(No, I'm not anywhere near finished yet - I've only had about 1 hr to spend on it since the class.)

Warning kids - I would not be doing this if I didn't have alternate devices and full backup of my iTunes library available in case of beta FAIL.

Instantwatcher.com: a great way to find stuff to Watch Instantly on Netflix

instantwatcher.com - Movies and TV to Watch Instantly on Netflix:

"Who is this website for?

It's for Netflix users who want to traverse and explore Netflix's catalog of streaming titles more efficiently and painlessly. All the information and cross-links on this website are limited to Watch Instantly titles so you don't have to waste time sifting through a bunch of DVD-only titles to find the ones that you can start watching right away.

You can also play or queue these titles directly from this website.

Can I use this website for free?

Yes. But you do have to have a Netflix membership to make full use of this website."

HP Mini 2140 is much better netbook with Windows 7 than with XP

"Windows 7 is the next version of the Windows client operating system. This version incorporates hundreds of improvements based on your feedback"

And it shows.

I recommend the Windows 7 Release Candidate, as long as you're cool with RTFM'ing. Go read the Windows 7 Release Candidate FAQ, then download & install.

XP to Windows 7 netbook upgrade? Windows Easy Transfer: Netbook Fail

XP to Windows 7 netbook upgrade? Windows Easy Transfer: Netbook Fail
Originally uploaded by fullerbecker

So - MS hopes netbook users will upgrade from XP to Win7. But you can't do an in-place upgrade from XP to Win7; if you want to preserve your files & settings you need to use Easy Transfer. But Easy Transfer won't run on a resolution < 800x600. Many netbooks do not meet this - for example my HP Mini is 1024x576. Conclusion: Win7 Netbook fail. Suggestion: MS update EasyTransfer so it does not require 800x600 to function - it will not even execute. Let us netbook users live with a compromised interface but don't fail entirely.

Here's the bug report I'm going to file on Connect, but MS wants me to use the Feedback tool from the machine having the problem, so I'm going to write it up here until the Win7 upgrade finishes....

See www.flickr.com/photos/76217291@N00/3492360092/

Repro: take a netbook running Windows XP. (In my case, a HP Mini 2140 with 1024x576 display.) Attempt to upgrade to Windows 7 RC1. Launch install. Attempt in-place upgrade.

Expected(but not the bug I'm reporting here): in-place upgrade from XP to Win7 works. (Yes, I know that's not a supported scenario. But it's still a big gap for Win7. Sure the folks who've upgraded to Vista will upgrade to Win7, but the folks who've stayed on XP will want to upgrade too.)

Actual (but not the bug i'm reporting here): Dialog appears ; in-place upgrade not supported for XP to Win7. Dialog explains that to preserve settings & files, need to run Windows Easy Transfer.

Repro (now we get to the bug I'm reporting) download, install and run Windows Easy Transfer for XP.

Expected: Easy Transfer launches, collects data and packages it up, then says "done" and I'm ready to upgrade to Win7 with my data ready to bring over to my future Win7 user profile.

Actual:

1. Easy Transfer installs, but does not automatically launch or even offer to launch when installation is complete. Should at least offer to launch when installation is complete.

2. - (this is the key issue that this feedback item is about!) When Easy Transfer launches, it refuses to run on the Netbook display of 1024x576 because it does not meet minimum resolution requirement of 800x600. Easy Transfer should allow execution with part of the UI cut off, or adjust size so it fits on a typical Netbook display. Refusing to execute at all is not good - netbook users will follow all the instructions, and end up at a dead end. Better to have a compromised UX than none at all. Best to fix the UI constraints for XP Easy Transfer so it can be run on netbooks.

Can't Directly Upgrade XP to Windows 7; use Easy Transfer

Can't Directly Upgrade XP to Windows 7; use Easy Transfer
Originally uploaded by fullerbecker

There's no in-place upgrade for XP to Win7. You'll need to use Windows Easy Transfer for your files & settings, and get ready to reinstall all your apps.

Now, you can still install Win7 on a PC running XP; it's just going to be a clean install of Windows into a new directory so you have a fresh user profile with nothing preserved in it.

You can jump through the WIndows Easy Transfer hoops to bring your files & settings back. But get ready to reinstall all your apps.

And if you have a netbook, check out the next picture in this set for a very unpleasant surprise!

If you love your users, set them free: Blogger import/export

This is one reason I'm really happy to keep using Blogger as my blog platform: I'm free to leave any time and take my content with me.

Blogger in Draft: import export: "This summer, we launched Import / Export on Blogger in Draft. The feature lets you export all of your posts and comments into a single, Atom-formatted XML file for easy backup. You can then import the posts back into Blogger, either into an existing blog or into a new one."

Moldova, Twitter and Nothing Under the Sun is New

First off, and most important: hooray for citizens of Moldova defending their democracy and freedom. In all sincerity - good luck with that, folks!

Lots of coverage right now about how Twitter was used to route around attempts at government censorship:

Nation & World | Twitter heard as media ignore Moldova unrest | Seattle Times Newspaper: "Television stations around the world on Tuesday aired images of the violent protest, with the Parliament building and Voronin's offices on fire.

But in Moldova, where press freedoms are weak, state television chose to broadcast a soap opera and another station showed images of dance routines.

So the pro-European protesters turned to Twitter and the Internet to keep in touch.

'We sent messages on Twitter, but didn't expect 15,000 people to join in. At the most we expected 1,000,'"

So, there's two things going on here; nothing new under the sun.

First, there's a new communications technology that's used where other established ones failed, in newsworthy circumstances. In this case, Moldovans used Twitter to spread news and organize protests, and that gets some things accomplished.

Second it gets noticed by people who are interested in the new communications technology, and they say "look what great stuff people are doing with this tech we are fans of! this reinforces our belief that the tech is great!"

But that's OK. Good stuff is good stuff.

If you like this stuff, this is a great piece to go further with these ideas:

Moldova's Twitter revolution is NOT a myth | Net Effect: "As someone who started the 'Moldova's Twitter revolution' meme, I think I owe the world another essay. No, no, I am not going to renounce the meme -- quite the opposite, I'd like to step up the debate."

John Carmack on iPhone development: Wolfenstein 3D Classic

I always enjoy reading a good Carmack tale of software development. One of these should go in Joel Spolsky's next Best Software Writing collections.

[NB: By the way I'm talking about the Carmack who is a videogame developer (You've heard of Doom? Quake?) not Carnac the Magnificent or Cormac the author. Cormac is, like Carnac, also magnificent, but not with a capital M.]

Here, John talks about bringing Wolfenstein 3D to iPhone.

Wolfenstein 3D Classic:

Rather than having a big confrontation over the issue, I told them to just send the project to me and I would do it myself. Cass Everitt had been doing some personal work on the iPhone, so he helped me get everything set up for local iPhone development here, which is a lot more tortuous than you would expect from an Apple product. As usual, my off the cuff estimate of "Two days!" was optimistic, but I did get it done in four, and the game is definitely more pleasant at 8x the frame rate.
And I had fun doing it.
....this was the first time I had taken full responsibility for an entire product in a very long time.

This next bit is a realization that more app designers need to have. It's all about what the user wants to do. Don't make me sit for your program to load. Fer cryin' out loud, Sidekick taught us this lesson! (No, THIS SideKick, not THAT Sidekick.)

There is definitely something to be said for a game that loads in a few seconds, with automatic save of your position when you exit. I did a lot of testing by playing the game, exiting to take notes in the iPhone notepad, then restarting Wolf to resume playing. Not having to skip through animated logos at the start is nice. We got this pretty much by accident with the very small and simple nature of Wolf, but I think it is worth specifically optimizing for in future titles.

Apple's interface guidelines do practically beg developers to take this perspective, not just as a feature to implement, but as a design philosophy.

Perhaps the best quote of the article is the last line:

...I do expect Classic Doom to come fairly soon for the iPhone.

Gnothi Seauton

The Oracle said Know Thyself.

Polonius said basically the same thing.

I really appreciate this take on it from Roger Ailes:

Another critical point: once you reach a comfortable, successful level of communications, you never have to change it, no matter what the situation or circumstances or the size of the audience. I define an audience as anyone other than yourself.

Whether there's one person or a thousand people listening to you, or if you're on television and there are millions watching [or if you're posting on the Internet and no one is watching - Dan] the essential principles hold true. The key element is that you not change or adapt your essential "self" to different audiences or different mediums. The thing that most confuses people trying to learn to be good communicators is the idea that somehow they have to act differently when giving an after-dinner speech than they would while being interviewed on television or for a job, or while conducting a staff meeting. They think they have to act all these different ways and nobody's given them the script to do this. Remember: You are the message, and once you can "play yourself" successfully, you'll never have to worry again.

Roger Ailes, in case that name is just vaguely ringing a bell, certainly has a track record of communicating effectively. These days he's blogging too, of course.

And I see Poor Richard muses (no, not that Poor Richard)

No need to reach for the stars, either, because when you know and are true to yourself, the stars are inside you. Love to cook and invent your own recipes, like Silence? So you’re not the next Emeril or Rachael Ray. Maybe you’ll end up giving the occasional lecture on garden-fresh cooking, as Silence does, to small but enthusiastic audiences. Maybe you’ll end up publishing a cookbook. Maybe you’ll just continue to delight family and friends with your creations. Whatever the end result, it’s the joy of cooking and creating the dishes that’s the real deal. Anything else is extra.

Bonus link: The Internet says The Oracle may have heard it (stolen it?) from Egyptians.

Maxim: The act of building forces one to clarify

From The Practice of Programming:

It's hard to design a program completely and then build it; constructing real programs involves iteration and experimentation. The act of building forces one to clarify decisions that had previously been glossed over....As much as possible, start with something simple and evolve it as experience dictates.