World trade center site from 7 world trade center
Sad to walk around the wtc site all these years later, but nice to see progress on the memorial being made. Just had a crazy thought: at some point I’m going to have to talk to my daughter about that day.
Looking for another blogger for HackADay
The team at www.HackADay.com is looking for another blogger to help
expand the content from primarily hardcore hardware/hacking, to
include a little more LifeHacker and DownloadSquad type content. If
anyone knows a hard-working blogger looking to do about 100-200 blog
posts a month (3-5 a day) in the software, lifehacking, web space
please ask them to email a couple of their clips/URLs to
jason@mahalo.com with the subject line HackADay.
William Shatner wants to interview me for the "Heartbeat of America!"–umm, what is this?
Apparently, from this phone call, William Shatner wants to interview
me for this amazing show called “Heartbeat of America!”
This is all I could find out about it:
http://www.delmarresearch.com/video/DelMarResearch.mov
Apple's Master Plan (and why even fanboys should be scared)
Just sent this to my email list: bit.ly/11w4BK
——————
In this email
================
1. The Fallout from “The Case Against Apple”
2. Apple’s Master Plan (and why even fanboys should be scared)
3. Some free tickets to two events
4. A request for some help on a presentation
The Fallout
======================
The feedback from the last email missive, “The Case Against Apple,”
has gotten a predictably large and passionate response. Excellent!
That’s my entire goal for doing this email newsletter: to create
discussions around issues I personally find important or interesting.
Now, some of you are starting to realize that this email newsletter is
a HUGE ploy for me to get smarter by doing 2% of the work associated
with solving big problems/issues. Well over 1,000 of the 16,000 of you
responded to the “Case Against Apple.” I’ve read about half of the
emails so far. You guys are teaching me 100x more than I’m teaching
you thanks to the asymmetrical nature of this medium.
If only I could post all your responses somewhere for the world to
see. Then again, you wouldn’t send in the brilliant stuff you do if I
did I suppose. Also, publishing your comments would diminish the
massive competitive advantage I’m getting by having all your
collective thoughts to myself! 
Seriously, you guys are the best. After four months of writer’s block
you’ve inspired me to do back-to-back pieces about things we all care
about–first the Yahoo piece and now this one. My mind is super
engaged right now, and that’s when I’m happiest. When my mind is in
the middle of a really deep discussion and thought I’m on cloud
nine–how about you? In fact, sometimes after a full day at Mahalo I
go play poker for another five hours just to relax my brain. This
email newsletter serves the same purpose: you guys exhaust my brain so
I can sleep.
Now, in response to the piece well over 95% of you responded that
Apple was acting too closed and should, for market opportunities
alone, open up their platforms. One person got really upset because he
loves Apple products and unsubscribed, saying that I had taken things
too far. I begged him not to, but alas my pleas were for naught. How
will I ever survive?
Many folks pointed out, correctly, a number of flaws in my missive
including the fact that iTunes openness vs. Windows is not really
correct (or Apples to Apples–so to speak). The correct metaphor would
be the Zune’s media store vs. Apple’s. I stand corrected, but I still
believe that Apple should make an open API to iTunes and let folks
plug in whatever player they like.
A number of folks added that Flash not being available on the iPhone
was a really anticompetitive issue. I haven’t researched that issue
too deeply, but I would of course love some Flash on both my
Blackberry and iPhone. When will the Flash issue on Blackberry and
iPhone be solved anyway? Does anyone have inside information on this
that I can share with the list?
The most fascinating part of the discussion to me were the technology
people who were fighting for less choice. Now, they are not fighting
for less choice in some greed-is-great Ayn Rand kind of way. No, these
lost souls are arguing that users are not savvy enough to make choices
for themselves and that Apple’s core mission of stability trumps
openness. This is, of course, a red herring.
Apple’s open when it benefits them (i.e. on the desktop), and closed
when it benefits them (i.e. the iPod and iPhone). Apple is more than
willing, and in fact excited, to have multiple browsers developed for
their desktop computers, but God forgive the poor soul who puts a
second browser on their iPhone!
2. Apple’s Master Plan (and why even fanboys should be scared)
==========================
What we’re seeing right now is the fight for the next desktop: the
mobile desktop. If Apple wins the fight for the mobile desktop–and
they are off to a great start–it will set the industry back decades.
We’ve fought and fought as an industry to make open platforms
connected to an open network.
Now Apple is trying to control the platform, applications and network
simply to line their own pockets. While you Ayn Rand-ers are busy
slapping high-fives, let me remind the rest of you that competition
and open platforms are better for consumers on all levels–from
pricing to performance. It is only in the short term that we benefit
from closed systems.
You want proof of how important this issues is? Well, according to
everyone Apple will produce a new line of netbooks/tablets in a couple
of months that are somewhere between the size of an iPhone and a
laptop. When this device comes to market what operating system do you
think it will run: Mac OS X desktop or the iPhone’s OS?
Exactly.
This decision will be the ultimate tell for Steve Jobs. If Apple puts
the iPhone’s OS on this device it’s clear the direction he is going.
Is Apple working *backwards* from the closed iPhone up to netbooks,
media players and tablets? Is this just the start? Some day in order
to put software on your laptop or desktop you might have to go through
the App Store. Oh yeah, you might not be able to use Opera and Firefox
on your desktop any more. Oh yeah, and if Steve Jobs thinks the Flash
player isn’t as stable as his competitor to it, well, Flash might not
be supported in the new version of Safari.
There are features in HTML 5 that some say with QuickTime could
replace Flash features. Blocking Flash on Apple’s iPhone is certainly
a boost for Apple’s game business on the iPhone (i.e. you can’t play
bejewled in Flash on your iPhone–but you can buy Bejeweled 2 in the
App Store for $2.99).
This probably seems totally illogical to the Apple fanboys–heck it
feels illogical to me! However the fanboys are so drunk on the Kool
Aid that there is a good chance that they will just go along for the
ride. “Sure, lock down my tablet… why should I care?”
The rest of us? Well, it’s really up to us to make it very clear to
Apple that we don’t like the direction they are going in.
Freedom for our generation starts at our keyboards, flows through our
computers and phones, and then on to the internet. Anyone who tries to
limit your freedoms in that process is the enemy–even if they produce
the best products available right now.
all the best,
Jason
(Housekeeping stuff follows)
3. Some tickets for you!
======================
As part of the arrangement for me speaking at events we’ve asked
producers of the conferences to provide us with tickets so that
members of the Jason Nation can “roll deep” with me. Translations: we
got free tickets for the members of this list to expensive conferences
by being heavy handed.
We have eight tickets to the DigiDayApps conference in New York City
this Wednesday, August 12th. I’m giving the lunch keynote on “the Ten
best applications that haven’t been built yet.” Details at
http://www.digidayapps.com If you would like to request a free $495
ticket to this event please send an email to tickets@calacanis.com
with “digidayapps for yourname” in the subject line. We will pick
eight people at random to join us.
We have ten tickets to the LocalSearchSummit.com in San Jose on
Thursday, August 13th (yes, I’m racing from NYC to SJ for that
event!). I will be doing a fireside chat with Jeremy, the CEO of
Yelp.com. Really excited about this. If you would like to be
considered for one of the ten free tickets to this event simple email
tickets@calacanis.com with “localsearchsummit for yourname” in the
subject line.
4. What are the ten best iPhone/Facebook apps that haven’t been made yet?
==================
At my talk on Wednesday I’m going to run down the top applications for
the iPhone, MySpace and Facebook that haven’t been built yet. If you
have funny or clever ideas to share please help me out by sending to
jason@calacanis.com and ccing Tyler@mahlo.com with the subject line of
“10 Apps ideas.” Really appreciate your ideas/help on this one!
I guess we hit a nerve with that one huh?
From TechMeme… day two of "The Case Against Apple" discussion. Nice to see so many intelligent people contribute to this discussion. I'll have a part two shortly…. right now I'm too bush with TechCrunch50 interviews! (yes, that's how I spend my weekends).
