Under a Gibbous Moon

I can honestly say, I don’t like Facebook. I don’t even remember the last time I checked it.

At one point, it was useful. It allowed people to easily stay in contact with friends who lived in disparate parts of the country or even the world. At some point though, that changed. Facebook changed into VagueAcquaintanceBook. I see people who have several hundred “friends” even though they are actually the ex-brother-in-law of the sister whose cousin they met at a party one time.

FaceBook also changed into SpamBook. I got really tired of being asked to help someone find the Pearl of Wisdom so that they could could get and extra 100 fun bucks so they could buy the armor they needed to slay the dragon so they could steal his hoard and use the proceeds to adopt a panda. Fine, you like the game but don’t drag me into it.

So until FaceBook actually turns back into Facebook, I’m going to continue not use it.

I recently replaced my old laptop with one made by ASUS. One of the nice things about ASUS laptops is that they have a free, two year accidental damage warranty (ADW). After I brought it home I downloaded the forms, filled them out, and mailed them in so that I could take advantage of this.

I recently received and email from ASUS stating that my laptop does not qualify for that ADW because it was purchased from a retailer (Best Buy) that offers their own warranty service. Specifically:

Deny Reason: Bought from Best Buy – Retailer does not participate in ADW

It’s good to know that Best Buy’s terms of sale with ASUS preclude them from giving you their free warranty so that Best Buy can sell you theirs.

Google recently released a new licensing system for Android developers. It involves a set a libraries that developers can add to their applications that will require that the fact that it had be purchased be validated by Google’s servers (gritty details can be found here).

The reason that this is being rolled out is that paid for applications can be pulled off of the phone and then distributed illegally, much in the way of about another other computer program.

Now, I have always found complicated DRM schemes to be far more of a burden to legitimate users than it is to software pirates. Simply put, every DRM scheme (to my knowledge) has been defeated. This means that the pirates still get the programs for free and legitimate users have to put up with the DRM.

First I would like to make some points for Google’s system. Twitter, being a wonderful thing, I was able to discuss the new system with a Google employee, @romainguy and an Android dev, @tomgibara.

The first an most important point is, that this system is not being made mandatory and the implementation, and the degree thereof, is left up to the developer.

The biggest problems that plague online authentication is what happens when the user does not have an internet connection or the server is unaccessible (either do to high traffic or the server going offline). The answer to both conditions is that the system allows for the caching of the validation for offline use for “a period of time” before a recheck is required.

I have to admit that the failsafe implementation seems like a good idea, except that its implementation is also optional.

Now for the downsides.

Part of the licensing system require that the phones unique ID number be used. This essentially limits the software that you buy under this system to the device that you are currently upgrading. Did you buy that $30 office suite? Well you’ll have to do it again when you upgrade to a new phone. While you could email the developer to work something out, once again it is DRM places the burden upon legitimate users. Edit 28JUL10. The validation system requires the IMSI not the IMEI, see comments.

The second downside is that while the system has been designed to allow for no server access scenarios, it is up to the developer to allow for them. Because of this, you could find that nice, shiny music player you paid for useless when you put your phone into airplane more for that long flight.

The final downside, to me, is purely philosophical. This move, by Google, strikes me as more of something that Apple would do. Restrictive licensing is essentially what Apple built their empire on and to see Google implementing something like that is, in my opinion, a step in the wrong direction.

So, how is this going to work out? I see it becoming a fixture in the Android Marketplace in the coming months. Quite a few Android developers on Google Groups and on Twitter have been responding very favorably to it. What effect will it have on the Android Market? I guess only time will tell if it becomes a Steam or another SecureRom.

Not sure that’s a real word. Watch and then discuss. (Warning, gets vulgar near the end)

This is what I find so interesting as technology as a fashion item. Technology is supposed to do something useful effectively but once it becomes a fashion statement, the purpose becomes divorced from reality.

My personal favorite is Apple’s iPad. Tablets have been on the market for some ten years. People owned them, people loved them but they remained a niche product. Suddenly Apple makes a tablet and everyone wants one. What I find interesting is that it is more expensive than a netbook and yet less capable in nearly all respects. It is cheaper than many of the older tablets that I have seen but, once again, is far less capable.

Apple makes good products, I don’t think that anyone is going to argue with that, but for many people, it is not whether or not the product is what they need or what is the best but merely that it is Apple.

I think that this is a dangerous attitude because it lowers the bar. People are willing to accept less and therefore the drive for better is dampened. Sure, the iPhone was a game changer when it was released but its days of technological domination are (currently) over and have been for some time.

The reason for this is simple, Steve Jobs could release shit on a shingle, call it the iPhone 5 and he would still sell millions of them. Notice one of the big selling points was its redesigned case. Yes it’s pretty it doesn’t do you a damn bit of good when the phone doesn’t get reception unless you hold it just right.

Hat Tip: Phandroid

A IBM 350 hard disk from 1956.

I can’t find a weight on it, but it looks at least as much as a fridge. The twenty-nine inch platters spun at a blistering 1,200 rpm and it held a whole 5 MB. Makes the 5.25 floppies look efficient.

Hat Tip: BoingBoing