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Thursday, May 9, 2002 |
iPhoto 1.1.1 requires Mail to function? On investigation....no
Among the reader reports on Macintouch today is a note in the iPhoto report about the newest version iPhoto 1.1.1 not functioning without Mail being loaded on your machine.
This is one of those cases where Apple's bundling practice is like Microsoft - the use of one program relies on your leaving another program installed under OS X. Granted, you don't have to use Mail to be able to use iPhoto 1.1.1, but you cannot remove Mail from your machine...
Update: After posting the above, an MNJ reader experimented and found that iPhoto 1.1.1 works fine without Mail. According to James, " I just tarred Mail and launched iPhoto 1.1.1. It shot up a choose application dialog asking for Mail. I cancelled and iPhoto continued launching and was usable. Just couldn't use the email share function."
5:41:40 PM 
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A view of bundling through the eyes of a Mac developer
As he noticed that Dan Wood will continue development of Watson, Brent Simmons offered these comments on software bundling:
"I'm glad. I don't know if Watson will continue to be a successful product after Sherlock 3 ships. I hope so. One thing that has always bugged me is how people so often prefer the software made by their OS vendor. Bundling only works so well because people somehow seem to distrust competing apps that come from independent developers, even in the cases where those apps are better and more mature. [ranchero.com]
5:02:56 PM
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Watson developer will continue despite Sherlock 3
The developer of Watson, a once-unique program that offers access to information on the Web without the need for a Web browser, says he will continue developing the program even though Sherlock 3 will duplicate many of Watson's features. MacCentral has a story and some interesting discussion about the future of Watson...
2:45:11 PM
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Some advice from Dave Winer: Bundling happens
At about the same time I posted about my conversation with Wired News, Dave Winer offered a few comments on bundling on his Scripting News site:
First, accept that Apple has the right to bundle a chat client. Even welcome it, if possible, but you must accept it because it exists. And at the same time, double your support for the independent developers. Pay the shareware fee. Send them encouraging email, let them know that you appreciate them. Don't make feature requests in these emails. Just say thanks and include a check.
10:07:44 AM
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Bundling and its implications for third-party developers
Over the last few days I have been carrying on an interesting e-mail conversation with Wired News reporter Farhad Manjoo. Manjoo contacted me after reading my comments the other day about Apple bundling iChat with the upcoming update to OS X (Apple pulls a Microsoft by bundling iChat), and today he mentioned that Apple has told him that the new Address Book API will be open for third-party developers to tie in to the centralized contact database, which led him to ask if that fact makes me feel better about Apple bundling more applications with OS X. Here is my response:
"Yes, I am happy to hear that the Address Book API and the capabilities offered in iChat and other bundled applications will be open for the use of third-party software developers. But I still see parallels between Apple bundling applications with OS X and Microsoft bundling applications with Windows. Bundling can have a chilling affect on the sales of third-party applications, since most computer users will live with the software included on a machine rather than exploring another program that is going to cost them something.
On the other hand, I do see how bundling is to Apple's advantage, and especially how it is to Apple's advantage in some software categories on such a new operating system as OS X. For instance, Apple had to bundle Mail with the first release of OS X, because they had to offer some way for early adopters to actually work with the new system. But now that OS X is becoming more established, I cannot understand Apple spending time on a chat client when there are much more valid concerns about the system that could use their attention.
I am not sure what if anything will come from this conversation, but Manjoo has asked if he can quote me on some of our conversation...
9:57:03 AM
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Apple rolls out Bluetooth Preview 2
MacCentral notes that Apple released Bluetooth Preview 2 today. The update offers support for connecting with additional Bluetooth enabled devices and a few other enhancements. [MacCentral]
9:18:45 AM
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OmniGraffle updated to 2.0.2
OmniGraffle v2.0.2. - OmniGraffle helps you draw diagrams, family trees, flow charts, org charts, layouts and other directed or non-directed graphs. With it, you can attach AppleScripts to shapes or the toolbar to create dynamic interactive documents. [Release notes] [AppleScript Info]
Other things that you can do with OmniGraffle include creating custom Web interfaces - cutting and pasting Web icons for popular sites into a document that when clicked launch the linked site in a Web browser. It is definitely nifty software...I just need some time to spend playing with my copy...
8:45:06 AM
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No Macs on Capitol Hill?
Macs' Last Stand on Capitol Hill. Macintosh computers have been almsot completely banished from Capitol Hill. But one systems admin is making a lonely last stand. By Mark Baard. [Wired News]
This story strikes me for how ridiculous it is. The story itself is fine, but this is a pretty extreme example of the gulf between those who still can't see Macs as real computers and those who just want a choice. It is also a good example of why Microsoft is the most powerful company in the computer industry - that people are so locked in to the idea that it is best to have one way to do things and that being different is bad...
8:41:18 AM
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© Copyright 2002 Rob McNair-Huff.
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