The Geek Hits 80!
This week the Global Geek Podcast releases it’s 80th episode! Wow!
I decided to take this opportunity to talk about the iPhone and iPod Touch SDK releases since I don’t plan on talking about them again in the near future, probably not until WWDC in June. So let’s get down to it.
Some have hailed the iPhone SDK as “the second coming of the Jesus phone“, I see it more as a naturally evolutionary step for a mobile computing platform. What company in today’s world of user-contributed social networks would release a computing platform and limit the ability for developers to create “killer apps” for the device? Nobody. And so Apple released their SDK for the iPhone and the iPod touch last week.
However, Apple’s not giving up control of their devices to the open-source community. They will control the ability for developers to launch new applications to the devices by way of the Apple App Store. Yes, that’s right. You can’t just download your favourite new iPhone gadget, you’ll have to download sanitized “Apple Approved” gadgets. Great. Thanks Steve.
Not all the news is bad, though. Venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers has come forward with a $100 M fund to support the development of new and innovative applications for the next-generation media devices. I’m glad to see some investment that will help non-professional developers get their ideas heard. The firm has also pledged to provide support with business expertise and startup information.
Finally the SDK announcement came coupled with a few others. The biggest among them is that Apple has inked a deal with OS rival Microsoft for the use of it’s ActiveSync technology finally allowing the iPhone to synchronize it’s mail, calendar and contacts applications with Microsoft Exchange. This is a major coup for Apple because one of the major problems preventing the device from gaining widespread acceptance in enterprise environments was the lack of connectivity with the 800-pound gorilla of the office. The next few months will be interesting indeed, particularly if the 3G iPhone drops in June as most expect.
I’ll be sure to have a raft of applications up for the next GGP.