When the idea of web-based apps first started to look more viable there was an interesting debate within the open source community. The debate came down to the question of whether it mattered if you had the source-code of web hosted software. For the most part I think it does – especially if the developer wants faster development and more eyes looking at bugs/holes.
Having said that, freedom for a web-app means something completely different when it comes to the users data. This could not be more evident than with the recent news of hapless Microsoft destroying all data on T-Mobile Sidekick phones. After this news broke the tech-blogs were awash with damnation of “the cloud”. How could we ever trust anyone to store our data elsewhere? What were we thinking?
Well, we were thinking that its nice to always have our apps and our data available no matter where we are or what device we are using. We thought, its nice to have someone else provide storage for our ever-growing bits. But they are right in questioning our reliance on others to always get it right when it comes to protecting that data from rookie mistakes, changes in the direction of the app, or becoming evil.
So for the cloud to work, user must always have access to their data. That doesn’t mean the user simply gets to see their data in the app, that means that the user is at all times able to retrieve their data, and in a format that is transferable to other applications. Period. End of story. Anything less than that is a failure due to the reasons the Microsoft case so aptly showcased. Of course this means that the user must also be proactive in retrieving their data from time to time if it is truly important to them, but that has always been the case.
Its important to note that the largest purveyor of apps “in the cloud”, Google, has had a somewhat quiet campaign to provide this type of data retrieval for a while now. Called “Data Liberation” (and tracked at the Data Liberation Blog) they have been slowly making sure all their apps have some way for users to retrieve their data. The newest tool comes to Google Dos which has just added the “Convert, Zip, and Download” feature which allows you to easily grab some or all of your documents as a zip file (converted to whichever available format you would like). This is the most powerful of Google’s data retrieval tools so far and I hope all of their apps make it this easy (including Gmail which can do better than simply offering POP downloads). Still, it is good to point out Google proactively “not being evil” when so many folks currently attempt to disprove their famous motto.
Yesterday the Blackberry network went down again – this is the third time since I got one that it has happened (twice this year alone). I can still use the phone portion of course, but anything data related is dead. First of all, I really don’t understand why it all passes through their network from AT&T anyway. I also don’t care, what I do care about is it working. Its infuriating.
What’s also infuriating is that my options are limited to move away from it. All other “smart” phones blow except for the iphone. I can’t do the iphone unless I go the “illegal” route and buy an unlocked version so I can use it when in various African countries. I have a friend at work who has done just that and he seems happy with it – but it does seem like a hassle. I suppose I could get an iphone and use my unlocked blackberry only when I travel but I’d much rather have one phone for everything – its all just so much easier.
Maybe the Android phones will come sooner than I’m thinking they will? I sure hope so.
mah points out a headline in today’s New Times here in Rwanda: Frw44b goes to consultancy each year. That’s $80 million in money asking other people (mostly Westerners) to provide answers. That’s $80 million going to countries other than Rwanda… the country that needs the economic stimulus.
This goes right back to what I mentioned the other day about being asked point-blank about developing in open source. The reasoning there is that someone locally can learn to continue developing the system if the code is available. Of course we are taking it that one step further by hiring a local developer to join the team. Still, you get the point I hope.
Now in almost completely separate news, today I read about a solar cell phone charger that only costs $20! That’s only 10,000frw. Not much at all. The other day when I met the volunteer health workers who are going to use our systems to collect data I asked specifically where they charged their phones (all three had phones already) when they don’t have power. They told me they go to friends houses who have power. Sometimes they would charge them there at the health center too since they were affiliated with it now. Hell, for $20 we could hook them up!
On Friday I am off to Rwanda. Finally. This trip was supposed to happen… um… back in September I think. Then contracts weren’t signed, paperwork got complicated – other work came up. So the trip was rescheduled for the 15th of Feb. But Dave… its the 20th today! Very true. After all the months of postponement, after we scheduled the 15th and booked hotel rooms, we were informed that we have been kicked out of those rooms to make way for Dubya and his enormous entourage (we’re talking thousands of people here). So great, the President has just been in Rwanda and I’ve got to follow up behind him?? Did he piss them off? Did he say anything untoward to their President? Am I going to have to hear about it?
For the curious. I will be starting work on a project in which we will be building a system that allows health workers to collect public health information door to door via cell phone/pda. They collect this data already on paper and we want to take advantage of Rwanda’s very strong mobile phone network to make the process easier and quicker. I’d tell you more if the funders would only approve an announcement (red tape – mumble mumble). Oh, like everything else we do, this will be open source and the Rwanda Ministry of Health’s to own.
To put it very succinctly – internet access going out of Africa is bad. Very bad. Don’t believe all the hype of all the cool new ways of opening up Africa with the Internet. Its not here yet, and won’t be without some major investment. At any rate, I’ll try to post some while I am there but I doubt I’ll have the patience to put any photos up. Hmmm… maybe I will reacquaint myself with text browsers!
With last nights surprising results in New Hampshire the question is… or should be, why are the polls so amazingly off? Or maybe it should be, why do people keep paying these guys for inaccurate poll numbers?
Still, it dawns on me that the problem with polls these days has to do with what has happened to our use of telephones. Most of us either have multiple phones (mobile + landline) or just mobile phones. Typically its taboo to call mobile numbers for this kind of thing, though I am not so sure that’s true now. Also, we have caller-ID. When I see an unidentifiable phone number, a toll-free number, etc. – I don’t answer the phone. Surely I’m not the only one who does that. Surely that can skew numbers. I think there is something in this – I just can’t er… give any data on it.
Oh, one more thing… were I to actually answer a poll (which they won’t take in N.C. because we never, ever get to affect a primary with out votes), I would probably lie to them. It seems like an entertaining thing to do.
I wrote a small post about the new open mobile technologies (android, openmoko) and our work over on the job blog. I am really excited about the new open platforms and what we can do with them. I have to say that my favorite part of my current job, and most of my old jobs, is just coming up with new ideas… even if we never even act on them.
How did I miss that Steve Jobs wants an iphone SDK by February? I find that to be much better news from Apple in regards to the iphone. I am still amazed that they intentionally tried to brick the phones (and you won’t convince me that they didn’t) but if this thing comes, it does take back one of the two issues I have regarding the device.
The other issue, of course, is the lock into AT&T. Funny thing is… I’m a customer of AT&T. A happy owner of an unlocked phone too.
I’m not the only one who thinks that network locking is wrong – the Consumers Union (folks behind Consumer Reports Magazine) started a campaign against the practice quite a while ago. More recently, the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg went on another rampage against it. I don’t always agree with Walt – but this is dead-on-target. Honestly, it is tiring to be so far behind Europe on mobile technologies!
Meanwhile, I have now received my second SpaSMS. Another disturbing trend.
I am glad Fred mentioned that his observations (which I referenced the other day) were not an indictment of traditional journalism as it seems that the traditional outlets are now the best resources for news out of Burma. Jim Sciutto’s cellphone video methods may not be traditional, but his outlet is. And then there is the BBC, which is where I have mostly followed the events from Burma.
I keep waiting for some good news from the Burmese people – I’m still hopeful.
I only know one person with a “hacked” iphone – unlocked to work on a network other than AT&T. I haven’t heard from him since the Apple “update”. However, I do want to say that the American system of having the mobile phone linked to network via locking is amazingly broken. Apple caring as much as they seem to be about the very, very few people who have unlocked their iphone is simply lame. However, I must agree with the writer on Salon’s Machinist when it comes to the iphone: while its a technological marvel, “if you care about your rights, don’t buy an iphone.”
Today I received my very first Text Message spam on my mobile phone. According to the Wikipedia entry on the subject it is sometimes called “SpaSMS” – I like that.
Still, I am a bit surprised that either a) I got one at all b) I’ve never gotten one before. I’m just not sure which surprise choice is the correct one.
