Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Pads, "Passionate Programming" and Reckless Pragmatism

Yes, I'm going to get one. I'm going to bite the bullet and get an iPad.

No, I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with it. I don't know what purpose it serves, I can't think of a practical reason for owning one, and honestly, the purchase might be classified as "reckless", "impulsive", or... dare I say, "stupid".

But I do have one idea, and I think it trumps any argument for not getting one: Programming.

I think this device IS going to change the game, and I DO think that there is going to be an amazing new world of development possibilities that arise as a result.

And I want to be a part of it.

So I'm going to get one. Then I'm going to download the Software Development Kit. Then I'm going to spend my evenings learning how to write apps for what I sincerely believe will be the next great platform. I'm going to tinker with it, I'm going to play with it, and most importantly, I'm going to learn.
Posted by at 3/24/2010 10:22:00 AM
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4 comments:

  1. I want one... I really do. Although, like you, I have no idea *why* I want one. Perhaps we're just predisposed to to want the next cool gadget... and it is sexy. However, after owning the iPhone, I find I am constantly frustrated by the lack of support for Flash. Extremely frustrated....

    I'm not even going to debate the whole issue about whether Flash is good or evil. Its not available on the iPhone (and iPad) and probably never will be. As such, the web experience is lacking a lot of embedded video, slideshows, galleries, RIAs, and much more. So, the device isn't going to provide the total web experience as advertised... its going to provide the web experience that Apple feels is best for you (which apparently includes large blank areas where the Flash content was).

    On top of that, there have been significant questions brought up regarding support for competing applications (Picasa, etc.) to which the answer has been "no, but you can use the Apple equivalent which we feel is a better application".

    If you want it to succeed, don't tell me what is better for me. I'm smart enough to make those decisions for myself and live with the repercussions.

    Jeff has extolled the virtues and benefits of an open platform (Android) in plenty of previous posts. I completely agree and I believe the rapid gain in market share is a direct result. I just wish the Droid had been available when I was getting a new phone.
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  2. There's a few local iPhone OS developers if you ever need help or advice.
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  3. It has nothing to do with open. It has everything to do with developer interest. Usually that starts with tools. In the past, mobile developer tools have sucked. REALLY sucked. But Apple's development ecosystem is absolutely wonderful. Android's isn't nearly as bad as RIM (which is BY FAR the worst). So there's some competition there... until you start looking at the money potential.

    Linux is an open platform. The tools are so-so and you can do amazing things with Linux. But who makes money writing Linux software?
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  4. Dude. You're all over the place here. "Apple's development ecosystem is absolutely wonderful"? Seriously? It's Objective C. It's available only for Macs. It's arguably clunky and proprietary. Developers are developing apps for iPhone *in spite* of the SDK, not because of it. The reason iPhone application development is so hot has nothing to do with development environment and has *everything* to do with application distribution.

    Which is why your point about Linux, and your comparison of Android to RIM is so preposterous. Android is written in java. All you need is a CompSci 101 class and you're writing Java apps. You download Eclipse, go the the SDK and within minutes you've got an Android app running. You could be mentally incapacitated and write an Android app. In fact, I think I accidentally wrote one while I slept once. Android is ridiculously easy to get up and running, and let's not forget you can pretty much get the Android SDK on any platform and not spend a dime. The time you spent reading this reply to your post, you could've downloaded and installed a complete development environment and written an app.

    These days it's not even remotely about "development ecosystem". It's about application distribution. Build an App store. They will flock to it because it destroys the barrier to entry. Literally *destroys* it. Any out of work developer can become a millionaire overnight. Write an app, get it uploaded to a store, hit the sweetspot, and retire. End of story.

    "Development Ecosystem". Really?
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