One of the most important things to me in terms of purchasing a new cell phone is how well it could be used on the Internet. Long before the iPhone, I wanted a device that gave me full e-mail and Web support so that I could always be connected wherever I was, but whenever I took a look at some of the available devices on the market, I was never completely impressed. A few of them came close to delivering the results I wanted, but in the end, they just didn’t do the job. Of course, all of this changed when the iPhone came along.

I have to admit, I was slightly skeptical about the abilities of the iPhone when it was first announced, but after it was released and I was able to try and buy one, I realized that it was the best thing to ever happen to mobile Web browsing. I honestly can’t imagine using any other mobile device to surf the Web now that I’ve seen what the iPhone has to offer in this area.

Because of this functionality, it only makes sense that people are using their iPhones to do a lot more than simply call their friends and family. For the first time ever, people are actually enjoying the ability to use the Internet on a mobile device, and even though it’s not as quick and convenient as a regular desktop or notebook computer, they’re spending more time accessing the Internet on the iPhone. The iPhone is still a relatively new product, but how many people are using it to surf the Internet in comparison to other mobile platforms? Once again, Net Applications has some answers for us, and the numbers shocked me.

First of all, the most active operating systems on the Internet are going to be the major operating systems for desktops and notebooks like Windows, OS X, and Linux, but their mobile counterparts are making a name for themselves as well. According to Net Applications, the percentage of users browsing the Internet on the iPhone and its embedded OS X operating system is .09% while the percentage of users browsing the Internet on all Windows Mobile devices combined is .06%. Therefore, the iPhone wins under these circumstances.

I’ve used Windows Mobile before, and I can tell you from personal experience that using the Internet on that platform is not exactly pleasant. It’s better than what some of the other platforms offer, but it still doesn’t compare to the iPhone in any way, and the numbers show that. As we continue to make the move to a more mobile and connected world, Internet access is going to be tied into almost everything that we do on our cell phones and other mobile devices, and Windows Mobile is going to have to provide a better online experience if Microsoft hopes to get more of their users to actually use Windows Mobile to access the Internet, because right now, the platform just doesn’t do the trick.

This article has been republished with the kind permission of our friends at OSWeekly.com. For more computer news, go give ‘em a look or Subscribe to OSWeekly.com’s RSS Feed!

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I’ve gone on and on about how important cross-platform software really is in the past, and my mission to spread the word about its importance will continue. It can be frustrating to hear about a great application, become intrigued by its features and functionality, and then find out that it’s only available for one operating system. Oh, the humanity!

We obviously talk a lot about operating systems specifically at OSWeekly.com, but the truth is that no matter how good a particular OS may be in certain areas, there are times when users will refuse to use the operating system of their choice because of a reliance on an application supported on another OS. Yes, it’s not always all about the operating systems, people.

During my evangelization of cross-platform software the other day, I realized there was a flaw in my reasoning that I needed to correct. For a long time, I’ve been saying that the development of cross-platform solutions should be a goal for every software developer (it’s my goal, too), but if you’re going to just write them in only one way and push the same exact code out to every platform, then maybe you’re not truly ready to go cross-platform.

Granted, these solutions can work well, but in order to truly benefit from what cross-platform software has to offer, you need to step beyond the usual standards and take advantage of what each operating system has to offer instead of only providing a blanket solution.

Just think, each OS has its own unique set of benefits and drawbacks, and if you’re not playing off of these in the right way, then you’re missing out on the potential that your applications have. I’ve seen cross-platform programs before that worked very well on one platform, but if you tried to use them on any other operating system, you’d see an obvious difference. They feel rushed and clunky, and you can tell that no time was devoted to these versions. My theory is, if you’re going to do it, then do it right.

No matter what operating system they’re using it on, your users should all have a great experience with your software, and while these experiences should be similar, they don’t always have to be exactly the same. If you can add something new and exciting to the Windows version, then you should do it, and the same thing applies for OS X and Linux. The tools are there for a reason, and you shouldn’t be hesitant to use them.

In summary, I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m better off for it. It can be easy to get into the habit of trying to get things done quickly in this fast-paced world, but you don’t want to place such an emphasis on quick results that you forget about the quality of your work. As a software developer, if you’re about to issue a new cross-platform release, check to make sure that you’re using the strengths of each OS to the full. Your users will thank you for this.

This article has been republished with the kind permission of our friends at OSWeekly.com. For more computer news, go give ‘em a look or Subscribe to OSWeekly.com’s RSS Feed!

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It’s no secret that I’m a fan of OS X, and having a forum like this to discuss what’s going on with the operating system is something that I truly enjoy. Although there are plenty of positive things to talk about when it comes to Apple’s OS, I’m not so blinded by fanboyism that I can’t see the shortcomings. The other day, actually, I had a negative realization about OS X that surprised me, and I thought I’d share it with you.

For a long time, Macs have been the de facto standard for graphic designers, and although I’m not a graphic designer in any way, shape, or form, I can understand why designers are drawn to the platform, and since my wife is one of them, this is made even clearer for me. To be honest, I’ve only done some image editing on Macs that had the full Adobe suite on them, so manipulating graphics was a piece of cake even for someone like me because I had the right tools at my disposal.

With that said, I’ve never really needed to install any graphics programs on either one of my Macs, so when I had to do a little work on a particular image of mine, I looked around my installation of Leopard to see if I could find anything that was at least close to being an equivalent to Microsoft’s Paint program. I’d never really seen anything like this before, but I figured that there might be something buried beneath the surface in this latest version of OS X. I searched and searched for some basic tool beyond iPhoto, but much to my chagrin, I just didn’t find anything. Here I was using an operating system for graphic designers that didn’t even include a basic image editing application. There’s something wrong with this picture.

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this ridiculous? I’m sure many of you have been aware of this for years, and in the back of mind, I knew it to be true as well, but the fact that it’s still this way is completely beyond me. I know a lot of real graphic designers already have all of the expensive applications and wouldn’t bother messing with an inferior application, but for users like me, there should at least be something decent included with the operating system.

Whether they like it or not, Apple has to face the music and understand that designers are drawn to their computers, and when it comes time for one of their retail representatives to show off the design capabilities of OS X, they shouldn’t just have to launch one of Adobe’s bloated applications. Last time I checked, Macs were about simplicity and power, so where is that fantastic, yet simple, native image editing application that the platform demands?

I know there are some free and open source alternatives, but I shouldn’t have to track a third-party application down when Apple could have easily bundled their own solution with their OS. The Paint program that’s a part of Windows may not have changed very much over the years, but you realize how much you miss it when you’re using OS X.

This article has been republished with the kind permission of our friends at OSWeekly.com. For more computer news, go give ‘em a look or Subscribe to OSWeekly.com’s RSS Feed!

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Ever since the early news came out that Google was working on some sort of mobile phone (or gPhone, if you will), there’s been a lot of speculation about what it would actually be like. Google has pretty much been involved in every type of technology project known to mankind, so it only makes sense that they would officially make the jump to a more active and visible involvement in the mobile platform space as well. Now that official details have emerged, the speculation is over, and we can now peek behind the curtain and see what this Google phone thing is all about.

First of all, instead of focusing on releasing one specific phone that contains Google branding inside and out at this time, Google is actually a part of the Open Handset Alliance which contains 34 members from the technology and mobile industries (such as NVIDIA, Intel, and Motorola) that are dedicated to building a better mobile experience together. Google may be huge, but there are plenty of other big and important members of this group that all specialize in various things, and when you combine that knowledge into one effort, then the results are sure to be pretty spectacular.

They’ve released a mobile platform called Android, and not only is it free, but it’s built on Linux and completely open source. An early look at the SDK will be available soon, and handsets are expected to be out in the second half of 2008.

I have to say, this is pretty exciting, and when you consider the fact that all of these huge companies are working together on something like this, then you realize that the waves of change are upon us. Good things will come from this, and there’s no doubt about that.

So much attention has been focused on Google in relation to this project, and there’s an important reason for that. Some would say that Google already has a version of the Google phone, thanks to their involvement with the iPhone, and with Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube integration, those are valid comments. The phone may be developed by Apple, but Google is obviously a part of it.

How could Google work with and support Apple on the iPhone and then be a part of the Open Handset Alliance that is about everything that the iPhone platform wasn’t from the beginning? For example, the SDK for Android is going to be in the hands of developers before the handsets are even released to ensure that they know what they’ll need to develop applications that take full advantage of what this open and free platform can do. Does that sound like the iPhone to you? Unsurprisingly, Apple and AT&T are not a part of this alliance. Google is definitely playing both sides of the field on this one.

It seems as if Apple made public the news about a release of an iPhone SDK in anticipation of this news. It’s almost as if there will be a showdown between Apple and this Open Handset Alliance. Who will win? All I can say is that even though it may be open source, this Android project is really going to have to blow me away if it’s going to make me think about giving up my iPhone for even one second.

This article has been republished with the kind permission of our friends at CoolTechZone. For more news about the gadgets that make the world go ’round, go give ‘em a look or Subscribe to CoolTechZone’s RSS Feed!

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If you’ve been following the whole third-party iPhone applications debacle (and I’m sure that you have), then you know that the whole situation up until this point had just become completely ridiculous. Apple may not have been officially supporting the applications, but the hacks were plentiful, and oh so easy to take advantage of.

As I’ve said before, whether Apple initially planned to eventually offer an SDK (software development kit) or not, the success of unofficial applications probably spurred them on to get serious about an SDK sooner rather than later. To show his commitment to official third-party iPhone application support, Steve Jobs recently wrote a letter that revealed that an SDK is scheduled to be released in February.

This is great news for iPhone users and software developers, but I can’t help but wonder how exciting this will be once it actually sees the light of day. I mean, what is Apple’s concept of an open iPhone? As I write this, there are countless people that are doing amazing things through hacks on the iPhone, but I have a hard time believing that anything Apple produces will be as open and freeing as previous efforts by the community of unofficial iPhone hackers.

Will developers truly be able to develop applications like we’ve already seen, or will they be more limited? If Apple restricts freedom more than is necessary and releases this SDK in a half-baked way, then it will almost be worse than if they had never offered one at all. That may be a bold opinion, but I think a lot of people will support it.

In his letter, Jobs makes reference to some advancement that Nokia is making in terms of digital signatures, and it’s clear that Apple will take an approach that allows them to still protect the iPhone on their terms. It can be hard to let go, but Apple needs to do just that with the iPhone and truly make the consumer feel like it’s their phone.

Perhaps by default the device could only accept verified and approved applications, but with just a couple of small and official tweaks, it could be opened to run all applications by people that know what they’re doing and accept the fact that something could potentially go wrong if they get too adventurous. As long as these people didn’t go crying to Apple when disaster struck, and they could still restore the iPhone to its original settings and functionality, then we would be set.

Even though complete openness would be nice, I didn’t buy my iPhone only because I was counting on third-party applications. Instead, I liked the features that the phone had right out of the box, and I knew going into the purchase that Apple had initially taken a convoluted stance on application development. This didn’t stop me, and I still love the device just as it is. While I will appreciate native supported applications, I’ve already come to terms with the fact that this forthcoming SDK won’t exactly completely open up the iPhone and its OS.

This article has been republished with the kind permission of our friends at CoolTechZone. For more news about the gadgets that make the world go ’round, go give ‘em a look or Subscribe to CoolTechZone’s RSS Feed!

A new free Web browser called Browzar is designed for those who want to surf the Web without leaving telltale signs of where they’ve been and what they’ve done.

It doesn’t use cookies, caches, histories, autocomplete, and other features that can traditionally “catch” user information.
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