Comments on: iPad vs the Open Web

By: Flexknowlogy – Jared Stein » Follow-Up on Apple’s War with the Open Web

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:02:28 +0000

[...] so maybe “war” is overstating it, but as I argued earlier this year Apple is very much posturing itself against the idea of the open web and for the closed consumption [...]

By: Derick Jones

Derick Jones — Wed, 26 May 2010 06:15:36 +0000

I am checking this post on iPad much after I published my own article. I agree with what you have discussed here. I am not a big fan of Apple products, really. I think when it comes to Apple, it is like a dictatorship of sorts. Good to learn about this blog.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:22:45 +0000

Microsoft Courier is DoA before arrival.
HP Slate is DoA on arrival.
Palm should have issued an advance directive to not resuscitate.

Apple has created a whole market for developers who can really program. Optimization of code and speed are once again in the control of the programmer. More of my friends have filed LLCs for new companies in the last year than I have seen since the .com. The cool thing is that most of them can do this on their own. If you have mad programming skills and you want to start a company, there is more than enough work to go around.
If the open web out performed an app then I am sure the move would be in that direction but it doesn’t.
The schools that are offering objective C programming for the iPhone and iPad are filled to overflowing.
I could whine about the productivity of the open web or that Apple has once again stepped on the open source sore toe but why? Apple will force everyone to rethink what they were doing and come up with something even better or Apple owns this space for sometime to come.
I am eagerly waiting to see what Google has to offer. If it is open web then that bell has already been rung. My hope is that Google does something even more interesting because just a copy of the iPad won’t get you very far.
It will mean more work for all those creative developers who were stuck working in large teams for way too long.

Good luck to all!

By: Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:37:21 +0000

Seems a bit hypocritical of Apple to make a device that is so closed to creation (app developers can only use Apple’s development tools, limited creation tools for iPad users, the list goes on) when they have made their mark as the “we’re the easy way for you to create and share computer” if you know what I mean (just look at the I’m a Mac/I’m a PC ads).
Perhaps this is a step backwards but with the potential to move us forward, they just wanted to release the device before they could really supply us with cool tools to do things with. If so, it would have been nicer for them to admit it and tell us there is something better, more open, more creative (or creatively empowering) on the horizon. Maybe corporate pride just wouldn’t allow that admission. I agree with you and John that the right kind of competition should spark that kind of innovation if it isn’t already being considered.

By: D'Arcy Norman

D'Arcy Norman — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:56:15 +0000

I think the “everything needs an app” craze is just a fad. It will pass. Everything doesn’t need to be an App. It’s crazy to devote scarce resources to building an i* app for something, when the web version can be used by _everyone_ with minimal additional resources. Let the schools sniff around the fad. It’s worth experimenting with, at least.

For the Bb iApp, it’s a non-starter for Canadian institutions, since it relies on the Bb sync stuff, which sends all data through a hub server in the States. Web is the only way to go with Bb anyway…

But apps like the iUSask thing are really pretty interesting – a hub app that links to all kinds of _web accessible_ data, but also integrates stuff like geolocation etc… that’s just cool. and useful. I wish my campus had an app like that…

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:50:27 +0000

D’Arcy, if I read you right, you are supporting Jared’s points. IE:, that if we develop for mobile, it should be for the platform-independent mobile web (and I agree with Jared, mobile Safari ain’t too bad).

But based on my read of where educators are going with their mobile development, they seem all too happy to go the App route, and ignoring what the mobile web makes possible. I spent two days following this event (and also followed the mobile track at the preceding F2F conference), and was appalled at this emphasis: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/Browse/ELIFOCUS/37393

Personally, I don’t care if magazine develop apps… they are businesses. Schools should Think Different.

By: D'Arcy Norman

D'Arcy Norman — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 02:17:00 +0000

I suppose it’s _possible_ for corporations to push their content into app-only mode, without a web version at all. I can’t imagine a (successful, worthwhile, interesting) company doing that, however…

the iPad Magazine experiments may be one side of that – is it important or relevant? I haven’t purchased a paper magazine in years – not even the traditional copy of Wired in an airport. I don’t care if they lock their online versions into apps (which they won’t – the magazine apps are just one flavour of their content, there will always be a web version for the vast majority of folks).

By: Stein

Stein — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:41:41 +0000

D’Arcy, thanks for pushing back, but I think you missed part of my point, or I didn’t make it clearly. Of course you can view a lot of open content on Safari–it’s a mobile web browser. You didn’t hear me complaining about the iPhone when it was revealed that Safari wouldn’t support Flash or Java, because those again are propriety technologies, not open, web standard technologies, so no big deal. Since it came out I’ve said Safari on the iPhone is not just fine, it’s great.

But you said it yourself: Apps are separate from the web. Apps are part of a proprietary system that is surprisingly controlled and restricted, and may encourage corporate entities to move away from the open web.

That’s all.

By: D'Arcy Norman

D'Arcy Norman — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:34:46 +0000

The “open web” works just fine in the iPhone/iPodTouch/iPad world. Apps are separate from the web. You can view any website you want, using Safari on these devices. Videos play just fine, as well. The only restrictions are on those full applications that are distributed via the App Store. Sure, Flash-powered sites break. But Flash isn’t available for a number of reasons, most of them technical.

I really hate having to come across as an Apple Apologist all the time – I don’t mean to. But conflating The Open Web with The App Store is disingenuous at best. I can view any content I want to using my iPhone, and nobody is trying to stop me.

By: Fair use is your right to call a lawyer when YouTube illegally deletes your video

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 23:17:36 +0000

[...] On a related note, Apple continues to promote its proprietary interests by refusing to allow Flash development and the Scratch app. (I highly recommend Jared Stein’s excellent post on Apple and the open web.) [...]