Some of those that know me could possibly call me a fanboy of both Apple, Linux, or the XBOX (yes, I know the last one is almost a contradiction in terms since its made by Microsoft and I tend to favor Microsoft's competition over its Windows OS). I however take a different stand. I don't consider myself a fanboy of Apple, Linux, or XBOX. Yes, I love my Mac, my iPod, my iPhone, my Linux server, and my XBOX 360, but does preferring one platform over another really make you a fanboy?

So this leads me to my question: What exactly constitutes a fanboy?

I've heard some people say that if you prefer company A's product over company B's, then you are a Company A fanboy. I don't believe this is true. To be a fanboy in my opinion, you must love a product so much that you will jump on any opportunity to badmouth any competition, ignoring anything that the competition might actually be doing better than your product. Fanboys tend to be relatively close-minded on issues surrounding whatever it is that their product or company is involved in. We'll take the gaming consoles for the example. A Microsoft XBOX fanboy would be so into the XBOX that he would be blind and try to find a negative spin on anything that Sony or Nintendo might come out with for the PS3 or Wii, even if what Nintendo or Sony does is better than how Microsoft happens to do it for the 360.

I'll say it first, being ignorant goes nowhere, and fanboism is no exception. Take me for example, I much prefer OS X over Windows, hands down, no second guessing with pretty much no competition. Do I hate Windows? Do I hate Microsoft? No, I don't. I don't like some of the things Microsoft does, I don't like some of the ways Windows does what it does, but that doesn't mean I hate them. And even though I love OS X, I still dislike some of Apple's practices. And this is pretty much the core reason why I don't consider myself a fanboy. I recognize Windows strengths, despite my fondness towards both of it's competitors, OS X and Linux. And the same goes towards Sony's PS3 and Nintendo's Wii compared to my preferred console, the XBOX 360. In the end competition is what drives markets, and operating systems and gaming consoles are no exception. Without competition, there would be less motivation for companies to improve upon their product lines. Can you imagine still working on machines with Windows 98 if Linux or Mac weren't around and Microsoft was less motivated to come up with something new? I'm sure that's an extreme situation that probably wouldn't have happened, but competition drives innovation and innovation leads to improvements. So the next time you immediately want to bash a competing site, product, or company, look at it and see what it is all about. Don't just jump to conclusions and bash it blindly. It may be competing with your sacred product, but it may have its own strengths, and in a roundabout way, may very well lead to improvements for your side of the fence.

Tags: xbox, microsoft, fanboys, apple, linux, ps3

Because of the upcoming release of the iPhone SDK, I figured I'd list some of the apps I would like to see developed for the iPhone. Some of them can probably be done through the web apps with Safari, but I'd still like native apps to use if possible rather than going through Safari.

IM Client - This is probably the one I want most. A client similar to Adium or Pidgin that can run natively on the iPhone so I can chat with my friends using AIM or Google Talk. I'm not quite sure how I'd like it set up, but if done right, it would definitely be nice to have.

PDF Reader - The ability to view PDF files would be nice to have for the occasions neccessary. What would make this even better would be the ability to turn the iPhone and view the PDFs from both perspectives like you can webpages with Safari.

Twitter Client - It would be nice to see a native app that I can use to post and view Twitter statuses like so many clients available for Linux, OS X, and Windows. I might even try my hand with this one.

Notepad - The key to this would be synching with the computer. If a notepad like app would be developed that would allow for one to create text files on either the iPhone or the computer and be able to transfer them back and forth, I'd be interested. All I'd need would be for a basic notepad program, don't need any text formatting or any of those extra features.

Some Games - Maybe a few simple games would be nice to see, and I'm sure some will come. What would be even cooler would be some multiplayer action. The games could be as simple as something like hangman, sudoku, solitaire, etc. I know there are already some web versions of the games for the iPhone, but native ones could be nice as well as to not have to go through Safari.

Paint - The touch screen would be perfect for something like this. It wouldn't have to be anything complex, but a basic drawing tool could be interesting to fool around or play with. It could also be used for visual notes or something along those lines.

So, what apps are you looking to see created for Apple's iPhone?

Tags: thoughts, apple, iphone, mac, sdk

Apple's iPhone SDK will be coming out soon and rumors are going around that any and all 3rd party apps are going to have to go through Apple and be approved before they will be available for download and installation. This has some upsides and some downsides.

PROS

Malware, Harmful Apps Weeded Out - If someone tries to sneak in some app that harms the iPhone OS or causes an iPhone to be unstable, Apple should be able to pick these out rather quickly to prevent an unsuspecting victim from downloading and installing the app. Now granted, like computers, it could be up to the user to protect what he/she puts on the iPhone, but Apple at the same time probably wants to protect its name. Apple probably doesn't want some user to blame them for a 3rd party app that crashes that user's iPhone. In reality it wouldn't be Apple's fault, but too many people seem to blame the easy target, in this case Apple. (How many people blame Windows for a BSOD when in reality its a poorly written driver made by some third rate printer company).

CONS

Total App Control - Apps that Apple doesn't like for whatever reason could be blocked, even if they're good apps. Take P2P apps for example. Apple could take the stance that they'd only be used for piracy and shouldn't be allowed and block them from iTunes. (They haven't said anything on this, and it baffles the hell out of me why anyone would use the iPhone to download from P2P to begin with) With the power of total control could allow Apple to abuse that power.

Pricing - I haven't heard anything on the pricing of apps thus far but I would likely believe that they'd probably be mostly under $10. This alone wouldn't so much be a problem, but what if some developer wants to create an app and give it out free? Can they do this, or will Apple step in and charge for that app anyway? If they do, then I'd say its a bad thing. If they don't then this point is pretty much moot. Anyone know anything more about this?

Anyone else have any more pros or cons?

Tags: apple, iphone, mac, sdk

Back when the iPhone Firmware version 1.1.2 and iTunes 7.5 was released, people found a workaround for free custom ringtones from any MP3. I of course wanted to see if it would work, and sure enough it did. I was concerned as to how long the workaround would last figuring Apple would notice and close it up in future updates.

Then the 1.1.3 firmware became available which added a bunch of features that I liked so I figured I'd give it a try hoping that the upgraded firmware would not mess up my ringtones. After crossing my fingers and installing it, sure enough, the custom ringtones I made were still available.

iTunes 7.6 has been available for some time now, but I've been cautious about installing it thinking that it might be the update that disables the workaround. Well last night upon installing OS X 10.5.2, I decided that I might as well give it a try. Luckily my ringtones are still there, and I'm still able to create new ones, so obviously the workaround is still there for iTunes 7.6 and the iPhone 1.1.3 firmware. Here's the link for the workaround.

Note: this requires at least iPhone Firmware 1.1.2 and iTunes 7.5

Create Custom Ringtones for your iPhone [macrumors.com]

Tags: iphone, itunes, ringtones, workaround, apple, mac

Everyone knows by now that Microsoft is the leader of the pack when it comes to market share with the Windows Operating System. Over the last few years though, both Apple and Linux are starting to gain ground.

Apple & OS X

With the introduction of Intel-Based Macs, Apple started a new chain of events that has only seen their market share rise. OS X, their operating system I feel is significantly ahead of Windows in terms of usabilty and the whole user interface. I used to bash Macs, mostly because I didn't realize their full potential and what they can actually do. Once I got my iBook G4 a couple years ago, that all changed. The smoothness and the intuitiveness of the operating system and its base programs I thought, and still do think make OS X what it is. So many of the programs are all integrated together, something Windows has a problem with at times. And the base software itself rivals that of Windows. You get so more with OS X than you do with Windows, and if you buy your PC from Dell, HP, etc, you don't get all the crapware that comes preinstalled.

Linux & Open Source

Linux, once the operating system for the true geeks and nerds (no offense to anyone), now is proving to be much more user friendly, and a viable option for those who choose to try it. Ubuntu Linux is probably one of the key reasons for Linux's success recently with its ease to install and use. However though, as many point out, Ubuntu is not "Linux". It is a Linux distribution, but Linux is a lot more than just Ubuntu. I've been using Linux for 2 maybe 3 years now and honestly, if it weren't for games, I probably would have wiped Windows from my desktop entirely by now. It's probably wishful thinking, but I wish that more game developers would consider writing games for Linux. Sure, games like UT2k3 and UT2k4 had a Linux installer, and there's WINE and Cedega, but overall, hardly any mainstream games will run on Linux natively. And running on Linux doesn't mean that the software has to be open-source. You can install closed-source and proprietary software on Linux just as easily if written properly. The idea of proprietary software may be against the "true" open source ideals, but in my opinion Linux and open source are more about the freedom of choice rather than whether or not something is proprietary or open source.

It would be wishful thinking that either Apple or Linux could overtake Microsoft anytime soon combined or separately as Windows simply just dominates, but with the sad state of Windows Vista, Microsoft might end up seeing both Macs and Linux gain a little more of the market share.

Tags: windows, linux, apple, microsoft, ubuntu