The Good NET Guide

Posts Tagged ‘the-background’

The news is a bit aged but Boxee Beta is now on the Apple TV which means folks who updated to the latest ATV firmware can now get their media fix on. How do you get it

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The Boxee Beta hits Apple TV

Did you see this? This is Canabalt , a crazy little game that involves a man running and jumping in an 8-bit pixellated world that seems to be falling apart around you.

Originally posted here:
Canabalt: Amazingness in an iPhone game package

It’s 11:30 PM. You’re all alone. Suddenly!! A knock at the door!! “Who could it be?” you wonder

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The common peephole finally goes digital

Good God. There’s an article that was published on Green Pixels not too long ago that discussed video game addiction.

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Video game addiction is hard

The Bokeh Filter from The Bokeh Filter on Vimeo . Awww, how sweet

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Cute bokeh filter for cute bokeh

Devin posted the first AI Mario run last night and now there’s a longer - and better - one. This one even includes an exciting techno beat in the background which means someone out there dragged an MP3 into Movie Maker.

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It’s AI Mario!

What’s the story with OS X updates? Seriously, it’s beyond comprehension. This one (10.5.8) only resolves around a dozen bugs and security issues (this or that not displayed right, general stability improvements in specific programs) yet tips the scales at a mammoth 274MB

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OS X bugfix release 10.5.8 weighs in at a hefty 274MB

As great as the iPhone is, it has one glaring weakness: The inability to run third-party applications in the background. That badly cripples certain types of apps, such as those that do instant messaging, music streaming and location-based services. Apple’s Push Notification system coming with the iPhone 3.0 will help slightly, but it will not be a complete solution. And Apple clearly knows that, because it’s talking about ways to do background tasks.

Earlier today, Dan Frommer of Silicon Alley Insider cited sources in the mobile industry saying that Apple was serious about allowing background applications. John Gruber of Daring Fireball backed this up, saying he heard something similar from a decent source a few months ago. I’ve just spoken with a trusted source who confirmed the news as well.

Basically, my source says that while this is in no way a done deal yet, Apple is definitely trying to come up with a way to offer background support for third-party apps. They went on to note that while Apple may have something to say about it at WWDC, it’s very unlikely that any solution would be ready at that time, and could be a situation similar to how Apple announced Push Notification at WWDC last year but said it was coming in a few months (which it later was delayed until iPhone 3.0).

The reason Apple is being careful about this is because if it fully opened the iPhone to background tasks, the device’s excellent user experience would be threatened on a couple fronts. First, there’s a security concern about third-parties pushing and pulling data constantly to and from the device. My source believes Apple would likely separately approve apps for background support, but wouldn’t necessarily limit the offering to a handful of special apps.

The second concern is the iPhone’s power and speed. Some users have been bitching about the device’s battery since day one — with third party applications constantly running in the background, the battery life would get much, much worse. Owners of the G1, the Android-powered phone that allows robust apps to run in the background, will know what I’m talking about. And background apps also eat up processing power. With some high-powered games that now run on the device, system resources are already getting heavily taxed, imagine running one of those with other applications also running.

Apple’s solution for this would likely be to limit the number of third-party apps that could run in the background at once, says my source. This is consistent with the other reports on the matter. And the new iPhone hardware is likely to have a better processor and more RAM, which would alleviate system strain, so it’s also possible these background apps would only be possible with the new hardware.

So why is Apple talking about this now? Well one part may be the new hardware that should be coming shortly, but another is undoubtedly the imminent launch of the Palm Pre.

Given that the Pre will be the first phone since the iPhone to use multi-touch and that Palm is made up of many former Apple employees, there’s been quite the rivalry brewing between the two companies over the past several months. There has been talk that the 3.0 software will neutralize many of the supposed advantages the Pre would have had over the iPhone, but background tasks will remain the big one. If Apple can neutralize that as well, the Pre becomes a lot less attractive.

Of course, the Pre’s webOS platform was constructed from the ground up to allow applications to run in the background, the iPhone’s OS was not. But I think even limited third-party background support would be enough to satisfy most users. If I could just say, listen to Pandora, while also surfing the web, I’d be a happy man.

There has been talk about third-party application background support before, and I’ve heard whispers in the past as well. And while my source today made it very clear that it’s entirely possible Apple will scrap its plans completely if it can’t come up with a good solution, it seems pretty clear that we’re closer than we’ve ever been to the possibility of third-party background tasks on the iPhone.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

The FBI is willing to do just about anything when it comes to tracking down bad guys. They did the widgets thing last year. And today they announced that they’ve “set up shop in several social media websites.”

They’ve now got profiles on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube profiles are highlighted. They even have billboards up in Second Life. But nothing is mentioned about MySpace. Except that you can add FBI widgets to “social media websites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Blogger.”

Given all the attention the Attorneys General have given MySpace over the years you’d think it would be the first place they’d stake out and infiltrate. But as of now, they’ve got no official presence there. At least, none that they’ll admit to. A search on MySpace, after you work through the ridiculous advertising clutter, shows nothing.

Probably the only thing MySpace hates more than getting too much government attention is this - getting completely ignored while fast growing competitors get all the attention.

Update: From Jonathan Cox at the FBI - “We have a widget that works on MySpace, but nothing formal yet. Its a long vetting process and I have so many government rules to follow it would make your head spin. This is just the beginning though. I’ll keep you posted as things progress. Thanks.”

Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free database of technology companies, people, and investors

Are you a true X-Men fan? No, you’re not. Because you didn’t make a pair of spring-loaded Wolverine-style claws.

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Working Wolverine claws look unbelievably dangerous