datacombs » josh

New library for mobile Drupal applications

josh — Sun, 03 May 2009 22:55:37 +0000

Just released a library for mobile webservices on Drupal over on Patronizing.

A look into Detroit

josh — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:31:19 +0000

I’ve been reading a lot of Detroit blogs lately. One of my favorites is detroitblog. They manage to find human-interest stories about parts of Detroit most outsiders don’t see. The view of the city isn’t always pretty, but they manage to show the humanity of those involved. The articles are also carried in the Metro Times.

Glemie Dell Beasley

I bring this up because the Detroit News had a recent article on urban hunting. The thing is though, detroitblog did the same story months earlier.

The News story has some interesting new content, but you don’t get the background from the original. There’s no real history and “Little Mary” is missing. They took the real meat out of the story.

Maybe the local weeklies will start picking up readers as the dailies die off.

Why Android will kill the iPhone

josh — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:40:09 +0000

Somebody has created an application for Google’s Android OS that scans barcodes, searches for a corresponding torrent on bittorrent search sites, and automatically downloads the content: Torrent Droid.

This is why Android will kill the iPhone. Porn and warez and shady applications.

Apple is repeating the same damn mistake they made in the 80s with the Apple II series and the original Mac. They’re pushing yet another closed platform. Android is going to clean up in the marketplace in the next few years, just like IBM PC clones did back then.

Yeah, I know: user experience, design, blah blah blah. It doesn’t matter. The incredibly varied marketplace that open development for the Android opens up will completely change the mobile software ecosystem. Oh, there will be crap. There will be an unbelievable amount of crap out there for it. But Sturgeon’s law and all that. ANYBODY with access to a relatively decent PC can develop for Android. I need to pay around $1k just to get the hardware to develop for an iPhone. Some crazy bastard is going to develop the Android’s VisiCalc, and then: Boom!

World of Goo publisher filing for bankruptcy?

josh — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 01:15:49 +0000

I just heard a rumor that Brighter Minds, the indie publisher behind World of Goo, filed for bankruptcy. If you haven’t played the game, check it out. It’s available for the Wii on WiiWare and also for the PC.

The gameplay and concept is original and addicting, and the art is this great mix of Dr. Seuss and Tim Burton.