36 karma · joined January 28, 2011
The reasons are many and varied. Some folks simply don't want to pay, others are frustrated by the content providers insistence on their way or the highway.
IMO the recent Oatmeal says it best: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones
Also, they bemoan the fact that for many people their editor is also their primary code reading environment, but it sounds very much to me like what they're asking for is amply provided for in a modern IDE.
While I agree that fixating on a particular tool can be a waste beyond a certain point, IMO a programmer investing in learning their editor seems like time well spent to me.
UNIX is in no way, shape or form an IDE. IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment and means exactly that. All your tools under one roof.
I do not deny and in fact would also assert that the separate tool chain / everything is a stream of bytes philosophy can be used in amalgam as an incredibly powerful methodology for software development, but that doesn't make it an IDE.
Why are they yanking it?
In a case like this, the reason seems pretty clear cut "Because you used an unauthorized AirPlay key" - but the way the current system works, Apple doesn't have to give a reason, they just pull the plug.
I am an unabashed Apple fan, but I think this aspect of the platform is broken and wrong and I wish they'd change their policies.
For a much less clear cut yanking incident, check out all the recent news on how they did this to iKamaSutra, which had no stolen copies of anything and got yanked for no reason at all, AND they refuse to work with the publisher to fix whatever violations may exist.
'tain't necessarily so. Most of the objections he raises in the article (e.g. Facebook making improper use of personal information) don't even register on the rank and file user's radar. Maybe they should, but they don't.
For instance, pretty much ever since the language's ascendance to popularity, a visit to the bookstore will yield a veritable WALL of Java books, most of them bound for obsolescence within a year, or two, max. Sure, this happens with other programming languages too, but the constant churn of frameworks, libraries and infrastructure that happens in the Java world is a boon for book publishers.
This doesn't mean that Apple will become Microsoft, or that all the technical innovation will end, it simply means that they are taking the steps they need to take to ensure that the techies will be ABLE to keep innovating.
But, don't let me get in the way of a good hand wringing session :)
Personally, I couldn't agree more with what he's saying. Users of other platforms (like Android) have had the ability for apps to interoperate (with intents, for example) since the very beginning, and IOS is dramatically behind in this regard.
Few would deny that Git is one of the most powerful open source SCM systems to come around the bend in quite a while, but sometimes I think more attention should have been paid to making the 90% of tasks most developers need easy, rather than enabling the last 10% for the edge cases where it's required.
While I applaud the EUbuntu project's goals and think they're very worthy indeed, I also think they're deluding themselves if they are targeting the Apple iPad as competition.
I realize that's likely to be an unpopular view here, because hating on Apple is geekdom's new favorite past time, but to my mind it's fairly clear cut.
What's my point in all this? I think folks should focus on building great educational apps, and the platform will follow.
I can't tell you how excited I was when I wrote a simple joystick driven paint program for my Atari 400 in Atari BASIC :)