Apple/AT&T Get Slapped with Class Action Lawsuit!

Federal Judge James Ware in Northern California approved a monopoly abuse lawsuit against Apple and AT&T – a process that was actually started by iPhone users back in 2007.  As class action lawsuits go, this will be a long process, but the impact could be quite positive.  http://bit.ly/99IRcR

One of the complaints is that the iPhone can only be used with AT&T’s network.  Perhaps the outcome of this lawsuit will mean that Apple can be released from its exclusive arrangement with AT&T, allowing the iPhone to be supported in any other network, such as Verizon.  This would be fantastic!  Competition drives down price and better coverage is a must.

Another complaint is that Apple broke laws when it updated its iPhone software, causing some phones to stop working and deleted programs that users had purchased.  It’s not clear if this complaint will be addressed, but it does sound like there will be an injunction to keep Apple from selling locked iPhones in the US and from determining what programs people can install.  This injunction is instrumental as I believe it means that developers will be able to develop programs for the iPhone using any multi-media platform (such as Adobe Flash) they want.  This supports a healthier developer community (on-going Flash projects for the iPhone can continue) and greater competition which always drives down cost.

I know it’s kind of early to make this claim, but it makes sense that Apple will have to bend as the market will not tolerate monopolistic behavior regarding a hardware device that is expensive and has relatively poor coverage.  It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit plays out.  What are your predictions?

Apple vs Adobe vs Microsoft vs……..Google?

I’m researching trends in the RIA industry and clearly find that this new battle between Apple vs Adobe and Adobe vs Microsoft (all vying for client-side technology 1st place) is an emerging trend that will have developers and IT teams reeling.  If finding talented developers isn’t hard enough, developers must now either beef up their cross platform skills or pick a side (specialize). Should be an interesting battle of giants that makes me wonder just how this war will impact IT teams already struggling with cost issues and other things like justifying their organizational value in light of all this in-fighting.  What does this mean for organizations that have Flash/Flex RIAs and want to extend their applications to use iPhones in the field?  Does this mean they have to hire more developers with different skills and find a way to integrate two disparate technologies?  Or must these businesses draw a line in the sand and say “screw you Apple, I’ll go with Flash and Android?”  What’s a web application developer to do?

In terms of client technology adoption, Adobe has the advantage with ubiquitous adoption of the Flash Player.  Silverlight 4 is gaining adoption and HTML5 still has a ways to go.  In the mobile market place, Apple is…no has shut Adobe’s Flash off from the Apple platform.  Obviously, Apple isn’t the only game in town. Aside from iPhone and iPad jailbreakers…I’m curious about Google’s next move!

Stay tuned…this should be an interesting ride!

Kat…
Twitter: mcoderkat1

Thank Goodness WebORB is cross platform!
http://www.themidnightcoders.com

Who’s on the Market of Fast Communication Protocols for Flex?

I’m posting a link to an excellent article by Yakov Fain, editor-in-chief of Flex Developer’s Journal (http://flex.sys-con.com) and managing principal of Farata Systems, consulting, training and product company. He has authored several Java books, dozens of technical articles. SYS-CON Books released his latest book, “Rich Internet Applications with Adobe Flex and Java: Secrets of the Masters” in Spring 2007. Sun Microsystems has nominated and awarded Yakov with the title Java Champion. He leads the Princeton Java Users Group. Yakov teaches Java and Flex 2 part time at New York University. He is an Adobe Certified Flex Instructor.

Jakov has interviewed Mark Piller for this article, http://wireless.sys-con.com/read/474885.htm which is about Flex integration solutions. Essentially, Mark describes why WebORB for Java is a solid alternative to Adobe’s Live Cycle Data Services, and why WebORB for Java surpasses what is offered in Adobe’s new BlazeDS product. WebORB for Java also provides a rich alternative to any open source solution. We believe WebORB will become the Flex, Flash and AJAX integration solution of choice for Java, PHP, Ruby on Rails and .NET developers due to the richness of the offering and the flexible design of being able to support multiple clients in multiple backend environments. Developers who are building applications for multiple server environments can go to one source, write once and deploy to many.

Air Bus Tour Interview with Mark Piller

The Adobe Air Bus Tour team went on the road this summer, stopping in 19 different cities, one of which was Dallas. The team caught up with Mark to interview him about how WebORB is used as an integration framework for AIR, Flash and Flex applications in .NET, PHP and Ruby on Rails environments. Click here to View the Interview.