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1. Comment - RIP: Palm 1992-2011

   (Jul 12, 2011 - 12:20 PM)

   if you sign up for the developer program it comes as part of the SDK. it's free btw. :)

2. Comment - Why is Microsoft suddenly so hot for HTML5?

   (Nov 1, 2010 - 9:03 AM)

   I think Microsoft is primarily targeting Adobe with this announcement. In fact, it was Adobe who first made a similar statement, that they plan to begin investing more and more in HTML5, while transitioning the Flash platform to a more thick-client approach via the desktop and mobile versions of AIR (which, by the way, are set to be delivered on all platforms other than Windows Phone 7 -- even iOS now allows apps compiled with Adobe's conversion tool). So really, MS is just following Adobe's lead. Everyone sees the writing on the wall--plug-in based RIA platforms are on their way out--and MS doesn't want to be left behind.

3. Comment - Playing catch-up in 2010: Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and Symbian

   (Dec 5, 2009 - 2:39 PM)

   QUOTE: "It might not be enough for Microsoft and other rivals to simply "replicate the functionality of where the iPhone is today, in as nice a package," Cherry said, in another interview. "The market is moving fast. Apple is not standing still, and neither is Android." Nokia, in particular, needs to produce a mobile platform that does more than just match that of the iPhone, according to Enderle. "Nokia is being widely perceived as no longer relevant," he maintained." /END QUOTE
   
   These statements are IMHO ridiculous. It's not enough to simply match the niceness of the iPhone? PLEASE. If Nokia, MS and Blackberry manage to pull of a UI as nice as the iPhone, that will be enough. It's not as if being "as nice as the iPhone" means simply making an iPhone clone--each of the companies will undoubtedly take its own direction, and that in itself will be enough differentiation. *If* they manage to pull of a UI that's as "nice" as the iPhone, they will be successful. Because user experience is the one single (complicated) ingredient that makes the iPhone (and Apple) stand out from the crowd, that up to now no one else has been able to match.
   
   This kind of vague analyst-speak about needing "something more", on the other hand, is the kind of thing that leads to poorly-implemented, rushed out gimmicks like Motoblur. "Something more" will not save any of these companies--more likely it will dig them even deeper into the ground.
   
   The only thing that will save them is a thorough examination of their current user interfaces including all the deepest nooks and crannies, and a fresh, cohesive redesign that simplifies things for the target customer base. In other words, do exactly what Apple did--nothing more, nothing less.

4. Comment - Will Nokia's plans further alienate American consumers?

   (Dec 5, 2009 - 2:22 PM)

   There's no question that Nokia needs to up its marketing, cooperation with carriers and general availability of phones in the U.S., if for no other reason than to ensure that all those U.S.-based developers get their hands on the phones, and to encourage the U.S.-based bloggers (the largest source of blogs that are written in the universal language of the internet--English), to write more about them.

5. Comment - The fallacy of Facebook privacy

   (Nov 26, 2009 - 11:48 PM)

   I fail to see how, just because it's "their money" and the other clients pay the premiums, the insurer automatically "has all the right".
   
   Your entire argument is based on an uninformed, biased and frankly somewhat bigoted notion of what the diagnosis of "depression" means. (In fact, your argument about her deserving what she got sounds almost identical to Levy's above). The problem is that your (and the insurer's and Levy's) subjective opinion, formed on the fly without a basis in any kind of further investigation aside from glancing at a few photos, is a far cry from being conclusive. And if you give the insurer the right to make these kind of snap decisions without being able to back them up with anything more concrete than a few vacation photos, it is a slippery slope.
   
   As to your point about her driving up premiums: You're whining about this under the assumption that she's faking it, that she's playing the system. Again, no proof. But forget her, just imagine for one half of a split second that you actually *get sick* and need to cash in on that investment you've been paying to the insurer all these years. But they won't give you a cent, citing some vague, unsubstantial reason. Maybe then you wouldn't feel as sympathetic toward the insurer and towards the other people whose premiums you were so worried about being driven up.
   
   It's just as I said in my earlier post: Yes, a few people always take advantage of the system. That's unfortunately the way all systems work. Certainly, there are criminals who get out of penalties for committing crimes, for instance, because the law specifies "innocent until proven guilty", in order to protect the vast majority. Likewise, the vast majority of people who claim they are sick, really are sick! (shocking I know.) They deserve protection from being cut off, just when they need help the most.