On doubting the iPhone and making the wrong comparisons

David Chartier posted On doubting the iPhone and making the wrong comparisons today at the Unofficial Apple Weblog. He talks about the Register's Lance Davis and his article
Why Apple won't sell 10 million iPhones in 2008. Making the wrong comparisons refers to comparing a business smartphone based on Windows Mobile to a consumer smartphone based on the Mac OS.

What shattered my funny bone was the ensuing comment by Microsoft hater Jeremy W, number 7 when I looked. Jeremy attempts to play The dozens on Microsoft, and botches it with the following:

"The skunkworkers at MS produced another stinko set of commands that are far too complicated and too filled with meaningless complications (called within MS: "features")."

"If MS designed an airplane, it would have two tails. (The extra one would be an added feature!)"

In case you don't know, "Skunk works is a term used in engineering and technical fields to describe a group within an organization given a high degree of autonomy and unhampered by bureaucracy, tasked with working on advanced or secret projects". Skunk Works is an official alias for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs.

Lockheed's Skunk Works

"The Skunk Works was founded at Burbank, California when Lockheed was tasked with building a high speed, highly maneuverable fighter to compete with the aircraft coming out of the Messerschmitt factory. Lockheed Model 22 rolled out in December 1938 and had her maiden flight on January 27, 1939. This plane would later be known as the P-38, and would be one of the most successful aircraft in the U.S. military for its time."

You guessed it. Lockheed's P-38 had two tails!.

Other famous airplanes coming out of the Skunk Works include the Sr-71 Blackbird (spy plane), The F-14 Tomcat (Top Gun), the F-117 Nighthawk (the stealth fighter), and the F-22 Raptor. The newest is the F-35 Lightning II (Joint Strike Fighter).

Yeah. They all have two tails.

Kinda like:

"Your mother wears combat boots".

"How'd you know she's in Iraq?"

Do your research!

Will iPod Development enter a new phase?

The following is (almost) purely speculational.

Considering all the hype spinning around the new Apple iPhone, I find it interesting that no one is discussing it's most spectacular feature combo. It's not news that the iPhone's foundation is the Mac OS; neither is it news that the iPhone is an iPod. Question: Could this mean that future iPods will be based on the Mac OS?

It's probably true that most iPod users don't know, and don't care, about the OS inside their iPod. "It just works!", is probably enough for them. On the other hand, for those of you wondering what's next for the iPod, an iPod running the Mac OS should boggle the mind. Today's Apple rumor is that an iPhone Development Kit (SDK) will be previewed or released at Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in two weeks. If next generation iPods are based on the Mac OS, then the iPhone SDK could also be an iPod SDK!

While Apple is (rightly?) concerned that third party applications could compromise the security of an iPhone, they probably have fewer concerns about the iPod. A Chinese iPod manufacturer has already demonstrated that an iPod can be used to spread Windows based viruses; Apple will need to use some caution, but not much. It's not as if the iPod has the Zune-like capability to transmit viruses wirelessly to every other iPod it meets on the street. Truth: I don't know if the Zune can do that either; that's purely speculational! Actually, my understanding is that MicroSoft's Digital Rights Management (DRM) won't let your Zune upload files received "socially" onto your PC. Kudo for that, Microsoft.

I imagine that the first fruits of an iPod SDK will be games. I also imagine that an iPod SDK could create an industry comparable to the rest of the iPod accessory market.

Release the hounds!

Microsoft Awarded Patent for the Mac OS?

Alexander Wolfe warns Apple Beware: Microsoft Awarded Web Phone Patent, U.S. Patent 7,225,409, Graphical User Interface For A Screen Telephone". He says it sounds iPhone like to him, and suggests Steve Jobs should use his iPhone to call his lawyer. Alexander thinks Microsoft's patent is not "just for a phone, but for the underlying software". I guess the other Alexander (Bell) should be worried, too. Apple claims that the "underlying software" in the iPhone is the Mac OS. The "underlying software" in the Mac OS is UNIX. Does this mean that Microsoft has patented UNIX?

I'm no lawyer, so don't call me.

My not-a-lawyer interpretation differs from Alexander's reading. I agree with Alexander that "the patent application shows some very broad claims". I read it as a patent for software to implement a GUI web phone on any computer, not neccesarily a cellphone, or a mobile device. While I didn't spend hours analyzing the patent, my quick scan picked up that the patent specifically references the CIDCO iPhone. Check out the picture of the CIDCO iPhone at G4TV. It looks like a screen phone to me. Maybe Alexander should be warning CIDCO instead of Apple. Nah, that article was written in 1998, before Microsoft applied for their patent.

Customizing the customizable

Microsoft's patented software includes a customizable visual user interface, and an API for customizing the customizable visual user interface. The phrase "customizing the customizable" appears nine times. NO WONDER Apple is reluctant to let third party applications on the iPhone. Microsoft has a patent on that. Right! Actually, it sounds more like Microsoft just patented skins. Would you believe portals? HTML? Computer programming?

Steve Jobs, don't bother your lawyer. Use your iPhone to play with Google Maps!