How Fast Are You?

Dear Cult Members,

Adobe has announced that the Flash player will be available for devices from Google, Microsoft, Palm, and Nokia by the end of the year. We’re talking about a full-featured, in-browser Flash player, comparable in functionality to the desktop version of Flash 10, optimized for the ARM 6 processor¹ and the ARM 7².

But Flash for the iPhone still looks very unlikely. Quoth Macworld:

Adobe said that it was still not close to delivering Flash players that would work with Apple’s iPhone or Research in Motion’s BlackBerry .

And analysts are divided on whether that will ever happen.

Adobe has been working on a Flash player tailored for the iPhone for almost a year, after Apple CEO Steve Jobs complained about Flash’s performance on the iPhone.

“We’ve made a lot of progress, but there is still a lot of engineering work to be done,” said Anup Murarka, director of partner development and technology strategy for Adobe’s platform business unit.

Jack Gold, an independent analyst with J. Gold Associates, cites a couple of reasons why we will not see a Flash player on the iPhone in the foreseeable future:

One is technical. “Adobe wants Flash to run really well. To get high performance, you need to run in the lower layers of the OS or phone,” Gold said. Windows Mobile, Nokia’s Symbian and Googles Android are relatively open to that, but OSes such as those on the BlackBerry and iPhone are not, he said.

The other reason, at least with Apple, is business. “Apple wants to push its own technology, in this case, QuickTime,” Gold said. “It has its own interests at heart. Look at how long it took to get Flash onto Macs. I honestly don’t think you will see Flash on the iPhone anytime soon.”

To paraphrase: Apple prevents applications like Flash from accessing the iPhone’s processor, and they Apple doesn’t want Adobe competing with their own technologies.

So you see, my Cult Member friends, Apple does not have your best interests at heart. It’s like buying a car that Ford prohibits you from driving more than 100 miles per day. That’s fine if you’re only ever going use the car to commute to work, but if you wanted to get away for the weekend, tough luck.

That’s why the BadKitty and I are looking into getting Android phones. When the Flash player comes out, I’ll let you touch my phone. My vastly superior phone. With a QWERTY keyboard. That I can write my own applications for without having to go through the manufacturer. So there.

Via Boing Boing Gadgets.

It looks like we will get to see the Watchmen movie on March 6. The Associated Press reports that 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers have settled their little tiff:

The release date had been in doubt for months as each studio’s attorneys grappled for an upper hand. Fox contended that Warner Bros. shot the film knowing that it didn’t have all the adequate rights; Warner Bros. countered that Fox had lost its rights in the graphic novel and was owed nothing more than a right of first refusal.

At stake was a movie that has stoked the excitement of “Watchmen” fans and that Warner Bros. claims cost it $150 million to film and market.

Until recently, the studios appeared to be in a stalemate as protracted as the Cold War backdrop of the film’s source material. But a Christmas Eve ruling by U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess found that Fox did have at least a distribution stake in the film.

Within days of that ruling, Warner Bros. and Fox were in serious settlement negotiations.

Attorneys were scheduled to update Feess on the settlement Friday morning.

While the studios agreed on little throughout the case, the statement released Thursday sought to end months of acrimony.

“Warner Bros. and Fox, like all ‘Watchmen’ fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film’s March 6 release in theaters,” the statement said.

As part of the agreement, both sides acknowledged the others were acting in “good faith,” although Warner Bros. conceded Fox notified it of its rights before filming began.

All I know is, anybody that stops this movie from coming out is going to have to answer to me.

via SCI FI Wire.

I’m a photo nerd and a professional web geek.
I relish all things tech and food.
I have been known to bring a roomful of people under my control with several well-placed chocolate cakes. Beware.

Did I mention the food?

• I like to eat and nap.
• I have an Apple tattoo… on my heart.
• I live near the water where there are fewer humans.
• I welcome our future robot overlords.
• I am freakishly tall.
• I can reach the top shelf where the cookies are hidden.
• No, you cannot have a cookie.

Break free for free!

That Bald Guy calls me a cult member, and he’s right: I have the Apple Kool-Aid running down my face after glugging down gallons of it. But I have taken a positive step.

After spending years paying $99 for a suite of services I never really used that much, I was glad to be getting push synching for my hard-earned dollars. But it wasn’t worth $99.

$12.99 a year, maybe, but not a Franklin. I mean, I can just sync at night.

Thankfully, a new web site has created a way to use Google as a *free* MobileMe alternative with push contacts & calendar on your iPod touch or iPhone, thanks to NuevaSync and Google. In order for this phase of your MobileMe recovery, you will need the iPhone 2.0 OS. To upgrade, connect your iPhone to your computer and click “Check for Updates” in iTunes.

NuevaSync links Google Calendar and Contacts with their Exchange server, which enables you to sync your Google info with devices that support Microsoft Exchange. You can sign up here.

Read more here. And welcome back to reality.

via xkcd.

Levi’s. Apple. Brand icons the world over. But iPod jeans? It insults my geek sensibility enough to… to… well, to get my crank on over the whole thing. This is the denim version of tape on your thick, black glasses. This is like carrying a Hong Kong Fuey lunchbox in 8th grade.

Think of the tech hazard here. Parents, check those pockets before putting your kids’ iPod jeans in the wash. I don’t know how much Goldschlagger their designers had to down in order to come up with this, but it was obviously too much or not enough. These jeans have a built-in docking cradle, a joystick, and retractable headphones. If you’re Inspector gadget on holiday, these might do the trick. Otherwise, who would wear these things? As an avid jean wearer and Apple aficionado, even I’m embarrassed by these. And, um… $200. I sh*t thee not. Oh, the horror. The horror.

For my money, ya just can’t see enough of spacesuits in everyday settings.

Speaking of DRM and how it is teh suck, Ars Technica has a great article today by Nate Anderson about the history and future of DRM cracks. It’s a good ‘un. Here’s a snip from the intro:

Like a creeping fog, DRM smothers more and more media in its clammy embrace, but the sun still shines down on isolated patches of the landscape. This isn’t always due to the decisions of corporate executives; often it’s the work of hackers who devote considerable skill to cracking the digital locks that guard everything from DVDs to e-books. Their reasons are complicated and range from the philosophical to the criminal, but their goals are the same: no more DRM.

We’re going to revisit the history of the most famous DRM cracks. While the stories themselves are fascinating, one of the merits of such an exercise is to use the lessons of the past to consider the challenges of the future. Along the way, we’ll address the following important questions:

• Will DRM someday be unbreakable? Do content companies care if it is?
• Who or what is a “Beale Screamer”?
• What does the history of DRM mean for new technologies such as Blu-ray discs and HDCP links?
• Can a marker violate the DMCA?
• What’s more important: technology, Congress, or the market?
• Will a Stalin statue make a brief cameo appearance in the conclusion of this article?

We’ll start our survey with one of the most-used DRM schemes in the country, Apple Computer’s FairPlay.

Via Ars Technica.