Fwd: Apple Developer Connection News #484

[Owen Densmore]

Some interesting insights from the current ADC news letter:

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Apple Developer Connection <noreply at adc.apple.com>
> Date: July 20, 2007 3:11:30 PM MDT
> To: owen at backspaces.net
> Subject: Apple Developer Connection News #484
>
> APPLE DEVELOPER CONNECTION NEWS        July 20, 2007 - Issue 484
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> IN THIS ISSUE
> http://developer.apple.com/adcnews/
>
> 1  iPhone Development Resources Now Available
> 2  New Hardware at the ADC Compatibility Labs
> 3  Register Now for an iPhone Tech Talk
> 4  Newest Features of the ADC Reference Library
> 5  New Version of FileMaker Available
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
> 1  iPhone Development Resources Now Available
>    Developers can now find development guidelines and resources to
>    assist them in creating Web 2.0 applications that look and behave
>    just like the applications built into iPhone. Following these
>    best practices will ensure seamless integration with iPhone
>    applications and services including making a phone call, sending
>    an email, and displaying a location in Google Maps. Third-party
>    applications created using web standards can extend iPhone's
>    capabilities without compromising its reliability or securit
>    http://developer.apple.com/iphone/

Seems to me that this means that iPhone apps will, for the near term,  
be webapps only, using AJAX etc.  No "OSX" or "Carbon" interfaces  
native on the phone from third parties.

The reality distortion field surrounding Jobs may actually consider  
webapps good enough.  He's dead wrong.  The iPhone will only succeed  
with true near-OSX level apps that lets him separate himself from the  
rest of the pack.  I hope this is understood in Cupertino soon!

> 2  New Hardware at the ADC Compatibility Labs
>    The ADC Compatibility Labs in Cupertino, California maintain more
>    than 350 configurations of Apple hardware. ADC Premier and Select
>    Members can take advantage of testing with the latest hardware,
>    including:
>
> - iPhone - 8GB and 4GB
> - MacBook Pro - 2.4GHz
> - MacBook - 2.16GHz and 2GHz
>
>     Learn more about the benefits of testing at the ADC
>     Compatibility Labs or schedule a session today.
>     http://developer.apple.com/labs/
>     http://developer.apple.com/labs/scheduler.html

Well, clearly iPhone is considered a computer, not simply a souped up  
iPod.  Not much going on in the iPod lab, I bet.

> 3  Register Now for an iPhone Tech Talk
>    Hear from the experts as they offer in-depth technical
>    information on how to optimize your Web 2.0 application and
>    content to take advantage of the features and capabilities of
>    iPhone. Limited space is available, so register today.
>    http://developer.apple.com/events/iphone/techtalks/

Apple is trying to get the developer community to take iPhone  
seriously.  This will be pretty hard, I think, due to the Web-only  
approach mentioned above.

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> NEW ON THE ADC WEBSITE
>
>
> ADC ARTICLES
> http://developer.apple.com/featuredarticles/index-date.html
>
> 4  Newest Features of the ADC Reference Library
>    Read about the newest features of the ADC Reference Library,
>    including a new resource type, Featured Articles, and a new
>    category, Scripting & Automation.
>    http://developer.apple.com/macosx/newinreflibrary.html       
>
> REFERENCE LIBRARY
> http://developer.apple.com/referencelibrary/index-date.html
>
> = Technical Q&A: How to handle  
> kAudioUnitProperty_MaximumFramesPerSlice
> http://developer.apple.com/qa/qa2007/qa1533.html
>
> = Technical Q&A: Synchronizing OpenGL rendering updates to the  
> vertical refresh of the display
> http://developer.apple.com/qa/qa2007/qa1521.html       
>
>
>  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> IN THE COMMUNITY
>
> 5 New Version of FileMaker Available
>   FileMaker recently announced a new version to their number one  
> selling
>   database software for Windows and Mac OS. Learn about the latest
>   feature enhancements that will make tasks even easier than before.
>   http://www.filemaker.com/index.html
>
> DEVELOPER TOOLS
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/development_tools/index.html
>
> = Torque Game Builder 1.5
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/development_tools/ 
> torquegamebuilder.html
>
> = Smultron 3.1.2
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/development_tools/smultron.html
>
> = Navicat (Database administration - MySQL Client) 7.0.3
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/development_tools/ 
> navicatdatabaseadministrationmysqlclient.html

Nice to see MySQL is still an Apple core technology.  Certainly good  
enough for their user base, IMHO.

> UNIX & OPEN SOURCE
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_source/index.html
>
> = OpenOffice.org 2.2.1
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_source/ 
> openofficeorg.html

Apple has flirted for years with OO, but never taken the plunge.  
Certainly the ADC developers are using it for Windows compatibility.  
Apple has chosen to stay low end for the "productivity suite",  
mainly.  And they have been conspicuous in not having an iWork07 ..  
just 05 and 06.  Keynote has been quite a success, but not Pages.

We wonder: is there interest at Apple to include a Carbon version of  
OO?  Preinstalled?  There is an ongoing open source development  
effort for a Mac OS native version of OO.  OO is currently only  
available on X11 or with the Java front end called Neo Office ..  
which is not all that bad.

> = Apple Disk Transfer ProDOS
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_source/ 
> appledisktransferprodos.html
>
> = Ruby One-Click Installer for OSX Tiger 1.2
> http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/unix_open_source/ 
> rubyoneclickinstallerforosxtiger.html

This is interesting: Ruby is the current Agile darling, being picked  
up by SketchUp for scripting and loved by all for Rails.  Ruby comes  
installed on current Mac systems as well.  Apple has to make as few  
frameworks popular to ADC developers, and this may be a nudge in the  
Ruby direction.

Main problem for all the Agile systems is window systems.  Possibly  
Apple is considering providing a GUI for one of them?  Probably not,  
but worth following.  Note the installer is likely to not need much  
of a UI and can simply use system calls to access the vanilla installer.

> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> NEW DOWNLOADS
>
> = July 2007 Developer Documentation in PDF
> https://connect.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/MemberSite.woa/wa/ 
> getSoftware?bundleID=19802
>
> = Firmware Restoration CD 1.3
> http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/firmwarerestorationcd13.html
>
>   = MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3
>   http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ 
> macbookproefifirmwareupdate13.html
>  
>  Some downloads may require ADC Member/Apple ID Log In
>
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> MACWORLD 2008 MARKETING PACKAGES
>
> - Exhibit at Macworld Expo
> - Advertise in Marcworld
> - Promote on Macworld.com
>
> http://developer.apple.com/business/adcmacworldpkg.html
>
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> TRAINING & EVENTS
> http://developer.apple.com/events/
>
> = Developing Desktop Applications with Cocoa, August 13-17, in  
> Beaconsfield, Bucks, UK
> http://www.plsys.co.uk/cocoa.htm
>
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> GET THE LEOPARD EARLY START KIT
> http://developer.apple.com/leopard/index.html
>
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> MAC PRODUCTS GUIDE
>
>  = Check out the New Arrivals
>    http://guide.apple.com/
>
>  = Tell Mac users about your Universal application
>    http://guide.apple.com/submit/
>
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> REMINDERS
>
>   = Has your address changed recently? Update your ADC account
>   anytime.
>   http://connect.apple.com/
>
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> JULY 20, 2007 - Issue 484
> ADC News is a free, bi-weekly email publication.
>
> This newsletter is for informational purposes only. Apple assumes no
> responsibility for its accuracy, and the information is subject to
> change without notice. Any use of, or actions taken based upon, any
> of the information contained in this newsletter is done entirely at
> your own risk. Mention of non-Apple products or services is for
> informational purposes only, and constitutes neither an endorsement
> nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to
> the selection, performance, or use of these products.
>
> Copyright (c) 2007 Apple Inc.
> 1 Infinite Loop, MS 303-3DM, Cupertino, CA 95014
>
> All Rights Reserved.
> http://www.apple.com/legal/terms/site.html
>
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Note that none of the following are mentioned: Python, Java, Flash.  
This may mean that Apple, like Google, is considering narrowing their  
scope of tools, at least in terms of promoting their use by  
developers.  This could be part of the iPhone strategy: clearly the  
iPhone can't have a full Darwin distro and has to pick and choose.  I  
suspect internal development at Apple is narrowing so that they don't  
go chaotic.

     -- Owen

[Marcus G. Daniels]

Owen Densmore wrote:
> The reality distortion field surrounding Jobs may actually consider  
> webapps good enough.  
IMO, Apple has a hands-down superior mobile web browser with the iPhone
and that's enough of a reason for buy one compared to competing PDAs.  
Supposing that Windows Mobile, etc. soon catch up on the usability
front, by the time the next generation iPhones come along, that they are
limited to webapps doesn't need to mean HTML driven by a server.   It
can also mean richer markup like XUL/XBL or SVG, or a native components
driven by scripts or the DOM (e.g. Flash, Silverlight/XAML, Google
Gears).   XUL/SVG stuff is already in Safari, for example.

Mobile devices have terribly slow data communications, so forcing
developers to invent concise application protocols seems a reasonable
approach to keep the mobile devices from getting bloated and slow.  
Even on the desktop, projects like Adobe's Apollo or the Pyro desktop or
Apple's Dashboard Widgets seek to use web markup as an organizing
principle.   Pyro defers to Firefox to be a window manager!    
http://www.pyrodesktop.org/Main_Page

Marcus