Apple's App Store: 1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

There's more App Store news around the web in the last few days. Apple has come under fire for a few more App Store issues since the whole "Google Voice Debacle". Here's the links:

Apple's New Low [via Engadget] - Apple has denied a dictionary named Ninjawords because it featured "obscene language". Shit and fuck are in my vocabulary, so why not in the dictionary? Fuck that shit.

No Kama Sutra For You [via Ars Technica] - An ebook reader app gets denied for making the Kama Sutra available.

But they've also made a few good rejections. They've finally rejected the god-awful apps from an Indian dude and his app sweat shop. Basically, he was making apps that aggregated articles from the web, violating thousands of copyrights in the process. Check it out here.

This is a funny time for an Apple fanboy. I'd like to disagree with all the haters, say "they just don't get it". But with increased success comes increased scrutiny. The more people that are using your products, the more problems are going to arise. Apple is at a crossroads and are having growing pains. Do they become completely closed, like Sony? Yeah, how's that working out? But you have to protect your assets, even if it pisses a few people off.

Apple keeps breaking Palm's ability to sync the Pre using iTunes. This is a good move. Apple is not stopping people from using their DRM-free songs on their Pre, but just stopping Palm from spoofing the vendor ID and making iTunes believe it's an iPod. If Palm wants to make a syncing app for the Mac, more power to them. RIM did it for the Blackberry. Word has it that the app is pretty nice, too. RIM has earned my respect with this move. Palm is trying to get bought out. Get on it, Dell!

Apple has a real opportunity to get some of those haters back on their side with Spotify. Spotify is a streaming audio subscription service ($15/month) that allows you to cache streamed songs for offline use. Similar to Pandora, except for the offline capabilities. They want to release a free iPhone app. This will be a direct competitor for iTunes. If they allow it, they risk losing $$ to this service. If they deny it, they risk losing users. It's a total "damned if you do/damned if you don't" situation. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks.

*Edit: Added the above paragraph about Spotify.*

Kevin Gregg Strikes Again!

Kevin Gregg just cost the Cubs first place by blowing his second save in 2 nights. Ugh.

Usually this cat is pretty good. He hasn't blown a save in a month until yesterday and today. Now I know how Cleveland fans feel. Kerry Wood, ex-Cub, blew 2 saves in 2 days when he played the Cubs at Wrigley. Gregg is an ex-Marlin, an we just lost the series to them at "Land Shark Stadium". Ugh.

I think I'm gonna be sick. When the offense wasn't hot, the pitching was. We got a tiny overlap there for the past 15 games, but now the pitching is on it's way out. The bullpen is sucking hard. All of our starters are injured or just coming back from injury, or a rookie.

The trade deadline has come and gone. We made a couple of small pitching moves that hopefully pan out down the stretch.

Go, Cubs, Go!

Don't fail me now.

Apple, AT&T, and Google Voice Debacle - Now With FCC Interference!!

Ok, Let me be clear here: I am first an foremost, when it comes to tech, an avid Mac user. I had one of the first 5 GB iPods. I've owned Mac desktops and laptops. I got the first gen iPhone and now have an iPhone 3Gs. I even type Apple's software title names like they're supposed to be: it's iPod touch, people, not iTouch, not Ipod, not I-Tunes. I have an Apple TV, use an Airport Extreme, etc, etc... Basically, if there is some piece of tech that I like and Apple has a version, I'm 95% likely to have it. I'll admit to being a FANBOY even.

That being said, I'm a little disappointed with my beloved Apple and Steve "Jesus" Jobs.

First: Google Voice

I know for a fact that I will never, ever, ever use Google Voice. I only have one phone number as it is...what do I need a second number for to forward to my only number? Plus, I'm not really impressed by what I've seen and read about it. Souped up call forwarding and VoIP, free (read: cheapskate) texting and personalized voicemails, emailing and texting your transcripts of voicemails...

It all sounds like a headache to me.

I understand that there are some people out there who will benefit from this and use it to its fullest. But I imagine there are much more people who think they need it sooo fucking bad that they're willing to drop everything they love about their iPhone and switch to a shittier phone/service/carrier just to show their love of Google. The tech blogs are full of these folks.

All the commenters from CNET, Gizmodo, Wired, Lifehacker, etc are calling for the end of Apple and AT&T on this. Why? Google is not the almighty. They create things that help people organize their life and help their productivity. And often, these things stay in Beta forever. How's Wave? Gmail just got out of beta. Gmail isn't the best thing since sliced bread, but it's a pretty good webmail service. The point here is, who fucking cares? If you don't like it, switch to an Android phone or a Blackberry. You loved your iPhone enough before GV to switch from whatever you had, now Google puts out a piece of beta software that you have to be invited to use and you all want to ditch your iPhones? Wow. Slow your fucking roll.

You know what? No. Fuck that. Blackberry doesn't have an app to control my Apple TV or iTunes with my Blackberry. I'm calling the FCC and reporting collusion.

Second: AT&T Is Behind This Or They Aren't

All the Apple fanboys are trying to defend them by saying this whole debacle is AT&T's fault. Really? Seems to me that Google Voice is available on Blackberry, which is available on AT&T. So switch phones. Most people who are going to use GV anyway are business types who probably have company-issued BBs anyway.

Maybe they are behind it. Maybe they're trying to get back at Apple for those not-so-subtle jabs at them at the WWDC this summer. Who knows? But what I do know is that AT&T is allowing GV on some phones in their stable, but not the iPhone. We won't know until we know. What's the point of speculating?

Third: Taking A Bite Out Of Apple's Good Reputation

That sub-headline my cause a few of you to say "What reputation? They're a closed system and they're too expensive! Free and open source is where it's at! All hail Google!"

This press is bad for Apple, right? My girlfriend hasn't even heard of Google Voice, but she has an iPhone and loves it. My dad has an iMac and a Moto RAZR, and he likes them both. He kinda wants an iPhone, though. Any time I use my iPhone, people ask about it, or show me theirs. These are among the millions of iPhone users who are at once oblivious to Google Voice and have heard all about Apple. Apple has many, many users when you factor in iPods, iPhones, and Macs. An extremely vocal set of techies are crying foul, but what about the other 99% of users? They don't give a rat's ass. This whole situation is being blown way out of proportion by the tech media (which, btw, is only read by techies.)

According to the commenters all over the tech blogs, Apple is all of a sudden a monopoly. The worst company in the world. Evil comparable to Microsoft. Because of one little app for a service that just launched and is still in beta. I just don't get the thinking here. These are the same people who lauded Apple for creating the iPhone and the App Store. How has it changed, besides Google Voice not having an app? Surely the beta tester group using GV hasn't integrated it into their life that much that they can't get ANY use out of their iPhones now.

Bottom line: For 99.9% of the iPhone users out there, nothing has changed.

Fourth: The FCC

I welcome the FCC into the fray. Maybe something will get changed at the phone exclusivity level and the USA will finally have a truly open phone system. Buy the phone first, choose the carrier second. Switch carriers when you want, keep your phone. I've always loved that idea. When I buy a TV, no one tells me I have to use a certain content provider with it. I get to choose. Dish, DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner. I've always thought phones should be the same way.

In Conclusion

Should there be an app for Google Voice? Yes. Will there be? Probably. Does it matter to me? No. I'm still gonna love my iPhone like I did before Google Voice came along.

But I am TOTALLY over this issue. Get over it, geeks! The iPhone may not be for you. Just because it's the phone that everyone wants doesn't mean you get everything you want to work on it. If you don't like it, switch to a different phone. Just imagine how pissed you'll be when you find out Apple finally let that Google Voice app in the store after you switched.

I Just Had To Do It

I couldn't stay away. I've been blogging for years under different names, way before Blogger had been sold to Google, before there was a "blogosphere". I've blogged under various names which I won't list here for fear that you'll actually seek out and read that crap. I've been doing it a long time, then I stopped for a long time. Now I'm back.

This is the deal: this place is not going to be about one topic. I like many things: tech, sports, mixology, food, pop culture, music, TV, comedy...the list goes on. This is my rant blog. This is where I will spew about things I've read in the news, heard on the radio, seen on the tube. Mostly, the only thing personal about it is that it will be my opinions. Who cares who I am or what I do? If you like it, cool...if not, fuck off.

Definitely NSFW.