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Thursday

04Feb2010

Google Voice Web App for iPhone

Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 7:49PM

After the dustup between AT&T, Apple, and Google over the rejection of an official Google Voice app for the iPhone, there was little reason to hope that such an app would ever appear on the iPhone. Even an investigation by the FCC didn't change Apple's position, and it even led them to remove all the unofficial Google Voice apps from the app store. So what did an undeterred Google do? They wrote a web app.

Ironically, before Apple created an SDK an officially allowed applications to run on their iPhone and iPod, they tried to convince developers that the way to get their content on the iPhone was through the web browser. Needless to say, back in 2007 that idea flew about as high as a lead balloon, but Google returned to that approach to create their Google Voice client for the iPhone. As a result, there was no submission needed and nothing for Apple or AT&T to reject.

The "app" in this case is accessed by directing the Safari mobile web browser to the appropriate web site. At this point, Google's HTML 5 code takes over and presents a screen that is virtually indistinguishable from an app running natively on the system. It is intuitive and responsive, and save for the Safari toolbar at the bottom, it occupies the whole screen. If you pull down on the screen, you will see the browser URL bar at the top, but other than that, the illusion is nigh flawless.

Google Voice has all the features you've come to know and love with sections for your Inbox, your contact list, your text messages, and your calls. Interestingly, the calls are handled differently from the way they are when using GV on a computer. Instead of having GV ring a designated phone number and then connect you to the party you requested, you will receive a prompt asking for permission to have your phone dial a Google designated number. Say yes, and your phone will dial and from there you will be connected to the requested party. Some people have complained about having Google's numbers appearing in their call log or on their phone bills, but it isn't a problem from my perspective. In fact, some people may even appreciate the added privacy.

Google's solution to this problem works so well that it begs the question of whether Apple wasn't right to suggest that web apps were the way to go. And for those companies who have had apps rejected, is HTML 5 the solution? I suspect that while there may be some apps that could find improved life as web apps, that approach presents its own hurdles. First, it requires the expertise to write such an app using web techniques. After an investment in learning Objective-C, this might be prohibitive. Then it needs to be hosted somewhere, meaning bandwidth will be a cost. Finally, it will probably be harder to monetize. Sure you can present advertisements, but you probably won't be able to collect an up-front payment as easily as selling through the App Store. These obstacles might be easy enough for a behemoth like Google to overcome, but they could be prohibitive for a smaller developer. And I doubt that apps like games would translate very well to a web format, but a proficient coder could prove me wrong there.

In the meantime, I have not only bookmarked the Google Voice web page, but I have added an icon for the bookmark to my home screen. So now not only does the web app feel like a native app, but it gets executed like one too. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

Chip Morton |

XBOX 360 Console Bans

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 3:45PM

Major Nelson, Microsoft's XBOX game advocate, has reported on his blog that XBOX Live has begun aggressively enforcing bans against users with modded consoles. The mods, of course, allow the use of bootlegged game discs. This bootlegging is bad for publishers on Microsoft's console, and hence bad for Microsoft. This doesn't represent a change in official Microsoft policy, just that enforcement has been stepped up.

[On a side note, this is one of the key reasons that Sony wanted Blu-ray in their latest console. Bootlegging PlayStation 2 discs was as easy as pie, and Sony didn't want to get burned again this time around. By putting games on Blu-ray, they get better encryption, images too big to transfer easily online, and discs that most of us still don't have the equipment to copy. Sorry to those of you who think otherwise, but it has little or no impact on graphical quality in games...not sure who started that myth.]

Of course this happens a couple months after I got my XBOX 360 modded. Of all the consoles I have owned, the 360 is the only one that has ever been modded. Why? Because after about 38 months of ownership and very delicate use, my XBOX 360 contracted the dreaded red ring of death (RROD) and stopped working. Microsoft informed me that I was just outside my warranty and told me that it would cost me $100 or so to get it fixed.

I didn't want to spend that much to get a three-year-old console fixed when I could get a newer one with more features for about $200. So I went to Craigslist and looked for a used system to buy. I was ready to pull the trigger when I came across an ad from someone who offered to repair the console for $50. Long story short, I take my console to this kid's house with $50, and two hours later he handed me my working console complete with mods. I never missed a day of gaming while waiting for the repairs to be done.

To be honest, I haven't made much use of the modding. I have maybe six bootleg games with dozens of legitimate games 360 in my library. To be sure, if I like a game or album or movie, I'm gonna buy it. But Microsoft refusing to continue supporting its early adopters after they bought a console with known defects is ridiculous. I jumped on board the XBOX 360 bandwagon long before most people, and my reward is that I paid more for a louder console with no HDMI port and a predictable hardware defect. Oh, and now I might get banned from XBOX Live. Thanks, Microsoft.

Update on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12:58AM by

Chip Morton

According to recent reports, a workaround for a getting a banned console back on XBOX Live has been found. It seems that information arrived a bit prematurely, but it is no surprise that there are hackers currently hard at work to find a countermeasure to Microsoft's bans. There's no estimate on when the workaround will arrive yet.

Perhaps most surprising to me is the second-to-last paragraph of the article, which says:

DailyTech's sources claim the ban blocks game installations to the hard drive and the Windows Media Player extender, corrupts save games and Gamertags, and disallows the console from accessing Xbox LIVE.

I haven't confirmed this yet, but if this is true, it would be downright gangsta on Microsoft's part. Banning consoles from XBOX Live is one thing, but scrambling someone's saved games and user data is just downright malicious. I might even question whether it's legal as some have done with the ban itself. (Of course, I have to point out here that I am not a lawyer, so I have no idea whether it's legal or not. Still, it's heavyhanded and wrong.) If somebody can confirm/refute the truth of that statement, I'd be happy to hear from you.

Chip Morton |

Netflix Streaming Now on PlayStation 3

Friday, November 6, 2009 at 5:44PM

My Instant Streaming Disc for the PlayStation 3 arrived in the mail today from Netflix. It allows Netflix subscribers to watch movies streamed over the Internet on their PS3 consoles, similar to what is available on the PC but from the comfort of your sofa. The XBOX 360 has had this capability for about a year now, and finally PS3 owners can get in on the fun. (Sorry, Wii gamers...no word yet on when Netflix will be available on your consoles, but I am optimistic that it is coming.)

Though the streaming feature is built into the XBOX 360's NXE interface, the PlayStation 3 does not yet have it on its XMB, but it should become available in a future PS3 firmware update. In the meantime, Netflix has gotten around that limitation by making clever use of the BD Live functionality that the PS3 has as Blu-ray player. The disc contains nothing but the code necessary for connecting to Netflix's servers. In order to run the program and establish the connection, the user simply has to insert the disc and "play" it from the Video Xross Bar as if it were any standard Blu-ray disc. It's simplicity itself.

The first time it is played, it will prompt you with a code to activate your console with your account. You'll need to use a computer to log on to Netflix and enter the code. Within a few minutes (seconds, actually, on my system) the console will be authorized and connected to your account. From there you will see the movies available in your Instant Watching queue along with several other categories. Your instant watching queue can be managed on your PC as you select from the movies available for streaming. Compared to the disc-based Netflix library, this is a limited pool of movies, but with 17,000+ titles and growing, there will certainly be something for everyone to enjoy. Additionally, there are several general categories like Comedy, Action & Adventure, Drama, and New Releases that allow you to find a choice that suits a particular taste without having to involve a PC. The PS3 had a few categories, like Dark Sci-Fi and Underdog Movies, that were not present on the XBOX, but the set of viewable movies remains the same.

Given that Netflix's current implementation of streaming using BD Live, it doesn't make full use of the PS3's hardware capability. As such, the interface isn't as attractive or as snappy as it is on the XBOX 360, but it still beats the same interface on the Series 3 TiVo. (I haven't seen a Roku, so I can't comment on it.) Once the selection is made, the streaming begins, and after a few seconds have been buffered, playback will start. You can skip forward and backwards through the video, but don't expect the response time to be the same as it is with a physical disc. Each need to reconnect to the server will be accompanied by the same buffering delay. It will undoubtedly cut down on the number of times you try to rewind your movie. Despite the TiVo's unattractive interface, using the TiVo's remote control is better and more intuitive than using a game controller. The PlayStation 3 does not have an equivalent to the XBOX 360 "Party" feature that allows users to invite friends from their XBOX Live buddy list to watch a movie with them (I'm not sure if they need Netflix or not to use that), but the PS3 does not require any additional fees, unlike the XBOX 360 which requires Gold XBOX Live membership.

Video quality varies greatly with the bandwidth of your connection, but in general, I've seen results not quite as good as a DVD, but much better than VHS or ripped downloads. In this regard, the PS3 is no worse or better than the 360 or a TiVo since all are limited by the strength of your connection. Interestingly, while the 360 and the TiVo seem to use the correct widescreen aspect ratio for playback, the PS3 showed video in a standard 4:3 ratio, which required me to set the aspect ratio manually on the TV for correct playback. I don't know if this is also a limitation of BD Live or just a difference in the implementation on the PlayStation. Maybe it will be corrected when the Streaming code is part of the PS3 firmware.

Granted, the need to use a disc to watch movies online is a bit of a nuisance, but it's a small price to pay for impulse access to thousands of movies at no additional cost. Hopefully the usability will improve a bit once Netflix Streaming is built into the XMB, but for now the core streaming is as solid as on other systems. So if you are a Netflix subscriber and own an Internet-connected PlayStation 3, this one is a no-brainer. You want to contact Netflix and order your free Streaming disc.

Chip Morton |