I'm afraid I'll create Skynet…
Chris Brakebill
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Posts by Chris Brakebill
Concerns about Android fragmentation (and other shitty Android issues)
Sep 7th
I’ve become more and more concerned about the fragmentation of Android. It seems that the “openness” of Android has become it’s downfall. First of all that’s the last time I will use “open” or “closed” to describe an operating system because those terms have absolutely no meaning. Any Android user who says “Well my phone is open” is providing no information on what is great about Android. Any Apple fanboy who mocks Android’s “openness” is being just as useless.
So there a few things that are bothering me about Android. One is the number of phones that are released without remotely the latest software (see Dell, and many others). Second is the lack of urgency manufacturers have when it comes to updating their software to the latest Android version. Let’s be honest, why should they when they can get you to buy a new phone and put more money into their pockets.
These create a nightmare for developers and buyers. There are new phones coming out now that probably won’t have the CURRENT version of Android this year.
Then there is the crap manufacturers are adding to Android phones. There is no unifying experience for Android, which makes it feel as if it isn’t really one platform at all. You have deals being made, like the one between Skype and Verizon which allows only Verizon Android users to download the Skype app. Why is this allowed in the Android Market?
Which gets me to the only somewhat unifying thing that most Android phones have: Google apps and the Android Market. It isn’t exactly a thing of beauty, but the Android Market combined with Google’s own apps are what make Android go. If the Market finally gets the overhaul that Google was showing off at I/O, it will be the second best mobile app market around (come on, it’s no App Store).
I think Google needs to use the Market and their apps to leverage manufacturers into a more unifying experience. The software as a whole should be kept open source, just the way it currently is. But starting with Gingerbread (and assuming a good market update), they should start some sort of license that allows device manufacturers to include the Android Market and Google apps on their device. Unlike Microsoft, they shouldn’t charge manufacturers to use Android, but rather they should have terms that must be agreed to in order to include the Android Market. Some of the terms I think should be included are as follows:
- The Android Market is solely under the control of Google and will appear the same on every carrier. Apps in the market can be used on any device with the minimum OS version. i.e. no deals between software makers and carriers. If you want to make those deals, distribute your apps another way.
- Conversely, you MUST be allowed to install non Android Market apps. I know, it sounds a little odd and backwards, but if Google should commit to letting you install whatever apps you like. It’s one of the things many love about Android. We don’t want this crap AT&T is pulling which restricts users to only the apps in the market.
- A timely upgrade to newer versions of Android. This is a very complicated aspect because not all devices are always capable of running new versions of software. This will probably be the most difficult to work out and enforce. I will just put a baseline that every phone should be required to be upgraded to the next major update released AFTER that phone’s release date. For example any phone released today, should be required to upgrade to 3.0 (and if it doesn’t have 2.2, it should get that very soon). As I said, this is complicated and could possibly have varied requirements as it moves along.
- This is something I’m not sure about, but I think there should be limitations on Android skinning. Android needs a more unified experience, and things like Sense and TouchWiz don’t really allow that. But customization is a powerful part of Android so this is really just a suggestion and not something I think Google should go about requiring anytime soon.
Obviously there is a concern with this. Will handset makers just say screw that and create their own phones without the Android Market? It’s certainly a concern, but I think if Google can release this Android Market overhaul and possibly include a Google Music service in this license, it would make it hard for manufacturers to say no. Of course you also have the carriers to contend with, which is where we need another manufacturer (besides Apple) with the balls to stand up to them. I’d love to hear some thoughts on my suggestion as well as any ideas for improvements (or scathing criticisms) you might have.
Third party video for Apple TV is a no brainer
Aug 31st
Including access to Netflix on the rumored iTV seems like a no-brainer at first — every set-top box worth its salt has it. It’d be suicide not to, right? But then you start thinking about how Apple would probably like nothing more than to launch a full-scale competitor to Netflix in the form of 99¢ rentals.
Let’s think about it this way. The Apple TV has failed to sell in large numbers. What is, more or less, the only way to get media on an Apple TV? The iTunes Store. So it seems logical to me that keeping that status quo won’t do anything to change Apple TV sales. $0.99 TV show rentals? Honestly I’m surprised they aren’t already that price. The Apple TV (or iTV or whatever) needs to open up to developers in a similar way that the iOS did.
There should be zero concerns that allowing other apps will take away from Apple’s video business. The only way to sell a lot of video, is to have a lot of devices out there for watching video. As I said before, the Apple TV hasn’t sold well with just iTunes content. But you better believe a device that allows Netflix, Boxee, Hulu, and any other kind of internet video service to build their own app will sell much better. And then there’s always the possibility of in app purchases of which Apple could take a cut. I’m not going to speculate on games and other things because we simply don’t know what interaction with the rumored device will be like.
Think about it simply. Would Apple rather have a device that sells poorly through which you can only purchase and watch video directly from Apple. Or a device that sells incredibly well that allows you to watch video from other sources. I’d bet you anything that not only would they make a TON of money from increased hardware sales, but they would sell just as much volume of their own content based on the sheer number of customers with an Apple TV in their living room.
PS: Lets be clear, whatever OS is on a new Apple TV may be “iOS-based” but it won’t look a whole lot like the iOS. This will not be a touch based interface, which COMPLETELY changes the way you interact with it. I can’t see any way you could elegantly just scale iOS apps onto a TV screen. This will be a completely separate store.
Socialscope prepping betas across the smartphone spectrum
Aug 31st
Socialscope, who has had a social app for Blackberry in private beta for….a really long time, is now prepping versions for iPhone, Android, WebOS, and Windows Phone 7. Users can now sign up at their website to get invitations for the platform of their choice.
I’ve been using the Blackberry beta for a while, and it is by far the best Twitter app out there. In addition to Twitter, you can add your Facebook, Foursquare and Flickr accounts for maximum sharing. My favorite part of the app is the unified stream view. It shows you entries from all of your social feeds combined into one view. There are also unified views for replies and messages.
Along the top of the screen, a bar allows you to choose between those unified views and each individual feed. You can also add tabs for Twitter lists and Socialscope groups, which allow you to group friends across different services.
It will be interesting to see what the guys at Socialscope can bring to the table on touch based devices. They’ve created the most crucial app on my Blackberry, but the competition there is so lackluster. Ubertwitter is their best competition, and that’s just not saying much. Android has some solid apps in Seesmic and Twitter for Android, but nothing amazing. The competition on iPhone is fierce, but I love Socialscope’s flow so hopefully they can create an app as strong as the Blackberry version.
There’s no word on when invites for the new platforms will be sent out.
Samsung releases teaser video of Galaxy Tab
Aug 24th
Samsung today posted a teaser site and video (below) for the Galaxy Tab. The clip doesn’t provide more than was already known but confirms the front camera for “video calling,” 720p playback and Android 2.2 out of the box. Other brief teases clearly show the Swype keyboard as well as make references to e-reading and GPS mapping.
A formal launch is now penned in for September 2, just ahead of the IFA show in Berlin.
The device is now expected to have a seven-inch, 1024×600 display, carry both front and back cameras, and hold 16GB of internal storage.
via Samsung teases Galaxy Tab for US launch | Electronista.
I’m really excited to see this thing and I’m glad they are putting the latest OS in it (take notes Dell). I’m not ready to say that it’s going to be a bonafide iPad competitor yet, but the Galaxy S reviews have been good so hopefully the Galaxy Tab will be equally solid.
The 7-inch screen size really intrigues me. My iPad certainly isn’t too big, but sometimes it does feel a little bit large and weighty. A more moderately sized tablet might hit the perfect sweet spot between screen size and weight in your hands.
Jobs says he doesn’t like set top boxes, not HDTVs
Aug 18th
Tom Reestman wrote last night on how Steve Jobs has already answered the question of an Apple HDTV. At D8 he discussed the difficulty of getting into the market. If you haven’t seen or read about what Jobs said, check out Tom’s post to get the real meat of it.
Part of me wants to look at this and say “yeah he’s right”. But I think his statements there are more about Steve’s problem with the set top box market. It’s true that there really is no go to market strategy there. You basically are building another add-on device specifically to interact with Apple content. It’s impossible to get in with the providers with any sort of control (Of course this was also a problem with the cell phone industry and Apple got past it). If Apple was going to partner with someone, it would have to be one of the satellite providers, because that’s really the only way to go national.
But I don’t think Apple has to partner with someone to build an innovative TV with great power. This go to market strategy talk is irrelevant when you aren’t talking about trying to get in with providers. Any business with the technical ability and the funds to build a TV can do so. And I’d say Apple has both of those.
They could easily build a TV that would function the way a lot of them on the market do today. All the inputs and whatnot for displaying from your devices (including your cable provider’s STB). But it may show us a new way to interact with those inputs, as we know that Apple has a flair for great interface.
An Apple TV would be much more than your average HDTV because it would basically have an Apple TV built in. So it would have a means for purchasing and viewing iTunes content right from the TV and maybe it would even have an iPad-esque web browser built in. Apple would preferably release the TV with an SDK for developing apps for the Apple HDTV. And they can just use their imagination for there.
Another great thing about an Apple TV is that there are millions of devices out there capable of interacting with it in iPods, iPhones, and iPads. So while the Apple HDTV will come with some sort of remote, most users will probably prefer interacting with it via their iOS devices.
This is all speculation about a device that doesn’t yet exist. I’m not exactly sold that Apple will do it, but I believe they will and I believe it could be extremely profitable. Jobs points at D8 don’t say to me that Apple wouldn’t build a TV, they just say Apple isn’t really big into the STB market. They just don’t sell well. But things could be very different if you build the STB into the TV. Something no one seems to have gotten yet. It’s no longer another box. It becomes an innovative television with features superior to other TVs, that also allows you to connect all of your devices to it. A much better sell than another set top box…
A hodge-podge of thoughts on Google, and the death of the best Android phone
Jul 25th
I’ve been wanting to post some thoughts on where I think Google should take the Nexus One strategy in the future. But then this past week they surprised me by announcing that they will no longer be selling the device through it’s online store.
The gave customers the true Android experience. It was clear of carrier and manufacturer crapware and waste. It could be bought unlocked or on contract with T-Mobile. Google took little risk in selling the phone online and they put no money into advertising. It’s obvious it was an experiment. An attempt to break the carriers control over the phones on their network. The only carrier they could get to go for it was T-Mobile who seems to be willing to do anything to increase subscribers. So when, unsurprisingly, users did
Why wasn’t the Nexus One ever brought to Verizon?? I’d be willing to bet it had a lot to do with Verizon’s desire to have more control over their devices. They didn’t want these Nexus One users having free WiFi hotspot access among other things. And Google probably wasn’t willing to concede that. They wanted their device to be the full unencumbered Android experience.
The only other device I’ve seen in the past year that was similar was the original Motorola Droid. Given that, I was hoping that the next iteration of the Droid might take the Nexus One’s places as Google’s flagship phone. Unfortunately, it seems that both the Droid X and the upcoming Droid 2 will be running some variation of Motorola’s Blur interface. The Droid has yet to receive the official Froyo update, and I would be willing to bet the this WiFi hotspot feature is a holdup. Verizon is NOT going to let a phone do that without being able to make some money off of it.
So why does it matter? Well Android 2.2 has been released for several weeks now, but the Nexus One is still the only one with Froyo available for installation (unless of course you root and install ROMs, which is not for the average customer). It really highlights the problem with Android, Google is at the mercy of manufacturers and carriers. They hoped they could use the Nexus One to push the carriers and take a little control, but they put so little effort into it that there was no way it could possibly succeed.
What should they have done?
- Certainly they shouldn’t have abandoned the Nexus One idea. Instead, they should have actually committed to it and showed that it was important to have an official Google phone with the latest software. They should have marketed the device properly. More than just a small bit on the bottom of Google.com and some ads in airports. Show me some commercials, print ads, etc. really highlighting the strengths of Android (maybe they struggled to find those…).
- Figure out your network strategy. Keep it as a GSM phone for AT&T and T-Mobile or build a CDMA one for Verizon or Sprint. Work with those carriers to make it happen but keep the crap out. You will probably have to abandon the free hotspot tethering idea, but that’s fine.
- I’m not really sure Android is ready for this, but BUILD AN IPOD TOUCH COMPETITOR. The music app is still lacking, but I think you have to give this a try. Unlike Apple, you’re into expandable storage, so you can sell devices with a couple gigs of memory and offer the ability to expand with SD cards. I’d also suggest making both 3G and WiFi models. There’s no denying we’re moving to the cloud, and making a 3G device with an iPad-esque plan would give customers anytime access to Pandora, Rdio, Rhapsody, and possibly Google Music in the future?
- Work with a retail store to give customers hands on access to these devices. You don’t have to have your own store to let buyers play with them. Best Buy, Radioshack, and Wal-Mart would all be great places to give users an opportunity to see what the Android experience is about.
Tom Reestman made a great point about why Google handled the situation the way they did saying
I wish Google had done a Nexus Two, but I understand why they did not. Google’s interest in Android is to get it in as many hands as possible and sell ads. In Google’s eyes, a Nexus Two would provide no advantages to them or their ad buyers over any other new Android phone. The fragmentation of varying UIs, services, and other add-ons doesn’t need to concern them. Sheer volume and ads, that’s their business model. I’m not knocking the model (it’s very successful), but it’s in keeping with it that they not waste resources on another Nexus.
Sadly I think that may be the case, and why Apple devices will always be better than Android phones. Apple makes money buy building products that consumers love. They want you to love using your phone and to pay them a bunch of money for it. Google, on the other hand, makes money by giving advertisers eyeballs. They only care about Android in so far as customers are looking at ads. That’s more or less the only source of profit for them.
I hope Google makes more of an effort to build something that will let consumers see the joy the using an Android device can bring. A device that will give developers comfort that more users will have the latest version of the OS. However Google tends to think a little bit too much about hard data and I’m not convinced they see the benefit such a device (or line of devices) would bring to the Android ecosystem.
Update: iPad sold, Motorola Droid sold on Gazelle
Jul 22nd
Update 2: I decided to sell the Droid to Gazelle. Really cool service. They basically buy your gadgets off you and then resell them around the internet somewhere. The price is a little low, but it’s not too bad considering you ship it to them free and don’t have to deal with the selling process.
Update: The iPad has sold 
but the Droid is still available and now I’m iPad-less just waiting for the Droid to sell!! I might post it on Craigslist. If I do I’ll post a link to it here.
I’m wanting to upgrade to a 3G iPad so I’m selling my iPad and my Droid. The iPad is listed on Amazon and is the cheapest of the new and used third party sellers. If you talk nice enough on here (or somewhere) else I might be convinced to drop the price or cut out the middle man and sell it to you.
I’m also selling the Droid and my goal is to get $200 for it. That’s MUCH cheaper than a Droid would be contract free. It has a few scratches around the outside but the screen is in great condition. So let me know if you’re interested!
Below is a gallery of photos I took of the iPad and the Droid. Even if you’re not interested in either, feel free to share with any friends that might be. Thanks!
Hard drive trouble
Jul 13th
So I’ve been having trouble with this hard drive of mine for a while. Let me break down its (brief history). I bought it to upgrade the space in my original Xbox which I had hacked to run XBMC. Eventually the Xbox had run its course and it was moved into an external enclosure, though I had plans to move it into a computer eventually. When it was last in working order I had it partitioned with different areas. One was over 300 GB formatted as NTFS and stored music, TV shows, and movies. Lots of them. The second was about the same size and was used basically as my Mac’s backup disk. The third was a little under 50 GB and has a Windows 7 install on it.
At some point when it was in the external enclosure, I stopped being able to read from the NTFS partition. I’ve tried on about 3 computers now and none can seem to figure it out. I’ve plugged it into my Mac and it has no problem recognizing the partition I use as backup as well as the Windows 7 install. Obviously none of the Windows computers can recognize that backup partition since the software is incapable of reading the filesystem, but every single one of them asks me to format my media drive and that is absolutely the last thing I want to do.
I did find some software for Windows that was able to recognize the media drive and see the first level of folders, but it didn’t see anything inside them. So I’m just hoping that someone out there has some sort of experience that might help me recover my media files (I’ve gone to this trouble because I had no backup of these files. I’m a college student, I can’t afford ANOTHER massive hard drive to back up all of my files). If I can’t figure anything out soon, I’m just going to format and try some recovery software. Thanks for ANY help you can give!
Review: The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Jul 7th
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Really great book. provides a great look into what lead to the housing crash. I’m no finance expert, so it was really hard to understand a lot of stuff, but Lewis does a pretty good job of helping you figure it out. Really fascinating stuff
Woot’s CEO is pretty damn funny
Jul 2nd
Woot.com CEO Matt Rutledge:
This is definitely an emotional day for me. The feelings I’m experiencing are similar to what I felt in college on graduation day: excitement about getting a check from my folks combined with nausea from a hellacious bender the night before. I remember fondly that time when an RA turned on the lights and yelled “WHO OWNS THESE PANTS?” Except this time, the pants are a company, and the RA is you, and the sixty five hours of community service is a deal that will ensure the Woot.com experience can continue to grow for years and years and years, like a black mold behind the Gold Box. Join us, because together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Also, there will be six muffins waiting in the company break room, courtesy of the nice folks at Amazon.com. Welcome to the family!
via Dear Woot Employees, Here’s Why We Just Sold To Amazon.
That’s the closing paragraph in his email to employees announcing Woot.com’s sale to Amazon. Hilarious, and the rest of the email is laced with more funny quips.
