There are a lot of haters out there but I’m still rooting for Apple. I want Apple to succeed. I’m not going to WWDC 2010 (tapped out of conference budget).

I wish I were going.

Job’s “you won’t be disappointed” promise has my head spinning. I like surprises. I hope Apple doesn’t disappoint.

So, what would I like to see announced? Here’s my top ten list of wishful thinking.

1. CloudWorks

I liked iTools until it became NotFree and then MobileMe. It just seemed regressive in the age of free online calendars and email. I guess I’ve never gotten over it.

I’d like to see MobileMe move to CloudWorks, a name I made up to describe the mythical Apple Cloud.

iLife

MobileMe backs iLife right now. There are a few issues to solve when iLife is backed by CloudWorks.

2. iPhoto backed by CloudWorks

A Freemium flickr-like model with auto-connection to iPhoto (and Aperature). Some base level service at no charge then additional service levels at a competitive cost.

3. iMovie backed by CloudWorks

A vimeo or viddler like service with auto-connection to iMovie. Some base level service at no charge then additional service levels at a competitive cost. The real advantage is HTML5 video streaming.

iWorks

iWorks is, ummm, okay. Except for Numbers. I cannot yet replace Excel with Numbers.

4. Super iWeb backed by CloudWorks

I know, I know. iWeb publishes to MobileMe now. I would like to see a tiered pricing plan. iWeb isn’t a web application authoring system. It’s a kinder, gentler DreamWeaver or FrontPage. Not everyone want’s to create the next twitter of foursquare. Sometimes a simple website is appropriate. Maybe $1.99/month for the basic service (charged to the App Store). Bandwidth and storage overages are competitive.

I’d like to see iWeb extended as a client editor for WordPress and/or MoveableType. Even better, a deal with one of these vendors to provide the service on CloudWorks.

5. Pages backed by CloudWorks

I use Pages to write papers for school (which I must export into Word format for online submission). Pages is more pleasing to use than Word so long as I don’t need to do much formatting. Besides, I do most of my draft writing using a combination of BBEdit and Scrivener. This blog article was drafted in BBEdit, for example. However, I’d like to save my Pages documents to CloudWorks with revision control. When I grant someone permission to pull the document down, they can select one of three formats: Pages, Word or PDF.

While we’re at it, I’d like to see a repository in CloudWorks for templates. CloudWorks users can submit templates to the repository and other members can rate the template. Like a APA compliant template.

6. Keynote backed by CloudWorks

Keynote is love/hate. It too is more pleasing to use than PowerPoint but almost nobody I interact with uses Keynote so I have that extra export to PowerPoint step. My favorite presentation tool is OmniGraffle. It’s a joy to work with and I like the way it looks in presentation mode. However, there is only one person I share presentations with who has OmniGraffle. Just one. I end up exporting to PDF.

I’d like to save my Keynote presentations to CloudWorks with revision control. When I grant someone permission to pull the document down, they can select one of three formats: Keynote, PowerPoint or PDF. Additionally, there is an HTML5 presentation feature that allows for online slideshow viewing.

Fix Things

There just two things I’d like fixed. They may seem small but it’s my blog and I’m making a statement.

7. Fix iTunes U

Maybe no one but me uses iTunes U and therefore no one will be disappointed if there are no improvements here. Except for me. I’ll be disappointed. For example, the ability to sort the lectures within a course. That would be nice.

It seems as if Apple has conceded K-12 to Windows. I would like to see the Mac emerge as strong leader in online education. That’s just me being selfish as I like school.

8. Fix the Cocoa Finder

I was happy to hear Apple moved Finder from Carbon to Cocoa… until I used it. There are subtle annoying quirks that showed up in the new Finder. For example, when I tab between desktops in Spaces, the focus is wrong when I get there. Even when the application has the focus (in the menu) upon arrival to a new desktop, the actual window doesn’t have focus.

Two More Things

9. iPhone on Verizon

I know this is a very United States centric request but this is where I live. ATT service at my house sucks. I’d immediately switch to Verizon. I don’t much care for Verizon but they do have great coverage (including my house).

10. Full CSS3, HTML5 Support in Safari

Whatever that means. I’d be happy if Safari reached functional parity with Chrome (except for the audio/video elements, cause that’s just not going to happen.) Safari is not far off.

Will any of this emerge at WWDC 2010? Who knows? Maybe what’s coming is so stunning that it eclipses any of my current desires. <-- grin -->

Consider the history of COMDEX. In it’s heyday, COMDEX rocked. There was excitement, drama, confusion. I attended my first COMDEX in 1991, my last in 2003. Fall COMDEX reigned supreme but I also have fond memories of Spring COMDEX in Atlanta. (Never made the Chicago show).

That last COMDEX was a week of the living dead. Sad. Like the last moments of an ailing pet.

COMDEX was a dealers expo. The conference tracks had more to do with channels than with end user training. It was a time of the backroom demo, of systems companies meeting with component suppliers, of mom and pop shops meeting with distributors. That time is past. Or, at least, has moved offshore.

MacWorld outlived COMDEX precisely because its focus, its purpose was different. Look at the conference tracks. MacWorld is less about refining the channel and reshaping manufacturing supply chains. Its more about the end user. And frankly, MacWorld is Apple’s big show, “Look at me.”

I felt MacWorld 2008–while interesting–was unnecessary. The Apple booth was packed but it was the SAME APPLE BOOTH. Adobe was noticeably scarce. Macromedia had been assimilated. Microsoft was promising big advances in Office 2008. Thankfully, the number of iPod skin vendors was down. It was a nice show. Like a nice visit with your favorite Aunt.

I would rather Apple bow out now at a pleasant MacWorld 2009 than drag out its inevitable death. I would have rather remembered COMDEX 1999 as the last hoorah than witness the emphysemic COMDEX 2003.

The world is changing. Computers are increasingly a commodity product. In the ’80s and ’90s, each year brought amazing new advancements to the relatively crude PC. The ’80s more so. I am lucky to have attended SOG in ‘87. That event wasn’t a show, wasn’t an expo. However, the people who attended were the living soul of personal computing… and the revolution. Everyone I talked to was a gift. Every conversation a revelation. The big shows never had that.

There will still be Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference. Microsoft has the Professional Developers Conference. Adobe has an analogous event for designers/developers with Adobe Max. Intel has Intel Developer Forum. But the PC pioneer days are over.

If you really, really have a need to join La Revolución, there’s still some life left in the penguinistas. But you better hurry. Even Linux World is changing. It’s now OpenSource World. Still, it’s not the same as a computer show. It’s more of a movement.

The era of big shows is past. The personal computer industry has grown up. We now have smaller developer-focused shows. It’s the times we live in. It’s just this way. For now. Who knows what 2020 will bring.

A year later, the latch on my laptop stopped latching. I sent it in for repair. In the interim, I Carbon Copy Cloned my hard drive and am using that hardrive to boot a 20″ iMac on loan from the office. I love it.

One thing I do miss: I really do use my laptop as a lap top. I can lean back with feet up on the ottoman and work with laptop on my lap. Sometimes, I need a book under the laptop. It gets hot.

I get my laptop back next week. I will miss the iMac but not enough to switch back to a desktop.

http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cups-horror.html

I tried to use CUPS from my Mac. Crikey! I don’t know HOW it happened but I can now print to my laser printer over ethernet. Of course, it has one of those [not supported on OS X] ethernet dongle thingies from NetGear.

But I can now print And it wasn’t CUPS either. I really don’t know if I’m printing through CUPS or over AppleTalk. Of course, I can’t print from ALL applications. Office-yes. PDF-yes(slow). Illustrator/Photoshop-no.

The fact that I can’t understand what the heck is going on means I can’t fix it.

What this guy didn’t say, and I mean this with all the conviction of Morpheus, the failure of Open Source to enter the mainstream (much less world domination) is a direct consequence of the movements anti-marketing mindset. Maybe I’ll bring this topic up at the local Linux User’s Group. ‘OSS sucks because it needs marketing’.

Better make sure I do that after free pizza.

But this anti-marketing bias (and subsequent chaos) is not limited to the OSS crowd.

Consider the response I got from Market Circle on the public mailing list.

I asked them to open up their marketing contact for customer feedback. Some months later, the issue came up again (on the list) and I commented that the only voice Market Circle had was technical support and doubted a marketing department existed.

It was in a thread in which I advised a Zen approach of lowering one’s expectations until the product did what you expected. OK. So, I was snarky. But I’ve paid my money. I bought the software. All I wanted was a marketing contact to hear my voice. This is their reply.

In terms of Marketing, even with the minimal
marketing that we do, people have built up
unrealistic expectations. What would happen
if we turned on the hyperbole?

Speaks Volumes.

Market Circle’s product (DayLite, available for OS X) is conceptually great. A contact manager built around relationships. The implementation is appalling.

Consider this (proud) solution proffered by tech support (de facto marketing).

Customer One: Another problem I have is the apparent inability to link a note from a contact to a related organization so it can be see there.

Tech Support: It is possible to link a note which is already linked to a Contact to a related Organization so it can be seen there.

• Create a note for a Contact.
• Type info in the subject and details.
• Click on the gear pop-up button in the Notes tab.
• Select Link Note from the list.
• The Linking objects to Note sheet will appear.
• Click on the Organizations radio button.
• Search for an Organization you would like to link the Note to as well.
• Select the Organization from the list.
• Click on the ‘+’ button.
• The Organization will now appear in the Link list.
• Click on the Link button.
• Close the Contact card.
• Go to the Organization list and open the Organization card.
• Look at the Organizations notes.. you will now see the note you linked viewable in the Organizations notes.

Customer Two: ….Which is 14 steps !!

This is not atypical. Fourteen non-obvious steps. The product, as defined and developed, is a real bear to use. Let me back up. It is easy to use as a simple replacement for Address Book. It is a bear to use as a customer relationship tool. I’ve been stopped cold on several occassions trying to use DayLite in a way consistent with the features/benefits presented in promotional material.

I will commend the support staff. They honestly respond with ‘DayLite doesn’t do that’.

It’s not that the support staff is bad. They are pretty good software guys. But they just don’t *get* it. Sometimes I get the feeling that Market Circle feels we [Mac OS X] customers are damn lucky to have them write software for us. And that is a MARKETING problem.

What bothers me is the increasingly defensive tone out of Market Circle. Here is the BIG argument for marketing.

Absence a marketing department, the usual tension that exists between development and marketing, now exists between development and customers.

Consider this little gem published to the customer mailing list:

For instance, we cannot add a feature because 5 or 6 vocal people ask for it. Some of these things take a lot of time to develop.

Because one of our features is not as deep as you like it, doesn’t mean that we aren’t listening or that we have no clue in terms of ‘product development’. (I’ve been doing software development for over 14 years – I know how to get stuff done within budget constraints)

Just two months earlier, I wrote that I’d like to see more marketing at Market Circle.

Good marketing (operative word, ‘good’) puts together a whole product beyond that of the application. Whereas the support team helps customers with the product, marketing helps customers with the product collateral (including dealing with the company).

Marketing manages customer expectations. I truly don’t expect I’ll get everything I’m wishing for in DayLite. I don’t need to as long as I can get my work done and no other better alternative emerges. In this regards, another ‘heavily technical’ company that gets good marks is OmniGroup. Marketcircle gets better marks in support. OmniGroup gets better marks in marketing. In my book.

The irony is, OmniGroup didn’t get higher support marks because I didn’t need support for their products (OmniWeb, OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner). I’ve had chance/need to contact OmniGroup since and they rate world class.

As Market Circle’s marketing image sinks lower in my eyes (as I continue to lower my expectations), so does their support image.

I’m hoping Microsoft’s upcoming Office 2004 for OS X can fill the gap. People gripe about Bill but, hey, Microsoft is a marketing machine. I’m starting to raise my expectations.

After a bit of googling, I found the no non-sense answers I needed.

Some of you may see the redleopard favicon. Others may not. Why? Who knows. I ran a little experiment.

First at Greg’s blog

    http://www.scarysharp.com/

and then my blog

    http://www.redleopard.com/

The two favicons are similar in size.

Did they show up in the browser? (SS:ScarySharp, RL:RedLeopard)

Greg sees the favicons from both ScarySharp and RedLeopard. He’s on Windows NT and XP.

I gave my home linux box to my nephew last summer so I don’t know if any of those browsers show the favicon.

The significant linux browsers fall into two camps: Konqueror (KHTML) and Mozilla. OmniWeb and Safari are based on KHTML while Firebird and Camino on Mozilla. IE is end-of-life on the Mac so who cares. Windows 98 has the bulk of the home market, but is on the decline.

I then found a gem. How to create your own favicons using Adobe Photoshop on OS X. Sweet.

First, a plug-in for photoshop to create your own favicons.

    http://www.telegraphics.com.au/sw/

I discovered it through the a site that walks you through creating a favicon (on OSX no less).

    http://www.golivein24.com/tips/favicon/

I downloaded the plugin and could save a file in .ico format. Seems straight forward.

Pay close attention to the note:

    ’Do not be alarmed if the Finder shows
    an unexpectedly large file size for
    ICO files saved out of Photoshop. The
    ICO itself is stored in the data fork
    and is as small as possible.’

I created a 16×16 favicon. Finder reported it was 40K bytes. After I ftp-ed the file up to my linux account, the file was ~1K.

In a subsequent conversation with Dan, I learned that his browser Safari 1.1 (v?) didn’t show my favicon but then mysteriously started to. Huh. Go figure.

Why is it that something so goofy, useless and non-standard as a favicon can demand so much time? I don’t know. But it does.

I wanted to make my laptop into a DAMP system (Darwin, Apache, MySQL, Perl/PHP/PythonMac OS X already comes with Apache and PHP. Old versions. And no MySQL.

I updated my system with the really straight forward downloads from Aaron Faby. He packages up Apache/MySQL/PHP into installer packages. Click and load.

However, I’ve decided I’m not going to update ‘AMP’ packages until the ‘D’ upgrade to Panther. Besides, my laptop is ahead of my web host’s versions.

Right now, my focus is on (a) writing content for my company’s site, (b) improving my Flash skilz [you'll see it here on the leopard], (c) upgrading the leopard to MT 2.64, (d)making money. Heavy emphasis on ‘making money’.

That is, unless someone has a convincing argument otherwise?