CKOHLER

It’s been over a week since Apple released the details reguarding their iPhone software development kit. Response to the event was very encouraging and the demonstrations made were more impressive than I was expecting. Over 100,000 downloads of the SDK beta indicates that many ambitious developers are eager to start creating apps for this evolving, new platform.

The predictions I made in my recent post didn’t turn out to be all that accurate, however. Here’s a quick break down:

• Developer Registration Codes - This one was easy and I was right on the money. Apple is requiring devs to register with them to receive a code that will be embedded into their apps. Basically, this is DRM for applications. This gives Apple the power to disallow and deactivate malicious developers and apps retroactively. A good policy.

• Corporate Custom Apps - Apple is going to solve the issue of corporate custom app delivery by giving corporations their own delivery system (a custom App Store the businesses maintain themselves) as long as they are willing to pay the price.

• Developers Releasing of Apps Directly - I missed the mark here. Almost everyone but me assumed Apple would control the distribution of apps and they were right. While being able to directly download apps on the device wirelessly using a simple, universal interface is nice, the Apple developer approval process is still a big concern that I fear could hinder adoption of the platform by developers who want to push the limits.

The third point in particular is both discouraging and welcome. I completely agree that the benefits of quality control, security and stability are issues that Apple’s approval process hold paramount and for that I can not falter them. None the less, the real issue now becomes where will the lines be ultimately drawn and how big will the “grey area” be for developers to work within? Will Apple be more flexible in the future regarding what is and isn’t allowed? How long will it take for developers and/or their apps to be approved for distribution? This all remains to be seen.

These concerns aside, I’m really encouraged by the power of what this SDK brings. For the first time since the 1990s, it feels like we are witnessing the emergence of a new computing platform that could realistically sit along side the desktop and laptop as a full featured computing device that is not simply a peripheral that compliments them but a platform in its own right.

Furthermore, the iPhone is also shaping up to be a serious contender in the mobile gaming market. Seeing games like Super Monkey Ball and Spore already demonstrated in playable form indicate to me that Apple has an opportunity to also turn the iPhone into a competitive handheld gaming system; maybe the first since the Sony PSP to actually be capable of directly competing with Nintendo’s long time portable gaming dominance.

Shot during the course of a typical work day, this video is the first I’ve made using my new Aiptek A-HD camcorder. The campus you see is the University of Evansville, where I work as a web developer. The music is from “My Life” performed by Billy Joel. I edited this video in iMovie ‘08 in less than an hour. It was the first time I’d used the new version.

• View HD Vimeo version
• View YouTube Version

Yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Another “I’m gonna loose weight” New Year’s resolution. Well, this time I’m serious. No really, I’m totally f#*king serious. No messing around. I’ve got a plan and it’s simple and straightforward. It’s broken down into three concurrent parts which I will begin practicing tomorrow… religiously.

Part One: I will be exercising for no less than one hour every day. Every single day. There is absolutely no reason I can’t do this. I always have hours and hours of spare time after work every day of the week. Furthermore, I have access to free gym facilities at the university where I work, including a pool, so there is always someplace I can exercise. Preferably, I will want to mix 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise with 30 minutes of weight training however an hour of any type of exercise will be just fine as long it’s every day. This will be a massive improvement over the ZERO exercise I’ve been getting for the past several years of my waisted, sedentary lifestyle.

Part Two: I’m going to refine my diet. Along with continuing to only drink water, I’m going back to having Slim Fast for breakfast and lunch. I have done this in the past with great success. Unlike some people, I enjoy Slim Fast drinks both for their convenience and their taste. The big change is that I’m going to be eating smaller, better portions for my dinner. I usually pig out at dinner time but not any more. I need only train my metabolism to get full on smaller portions. I just have to stick with it.

Part Three: Incentive. I’ve come to realize that while it can be helpful to set goals to achieve, it’s far more important to make this a lifestyle change that I want to keep up indefinately. Encouragement helps, so I plan to make my efforts public by posting regular updates here on my blog for my friends and family to read. Knowing that they are out there following my progress gives me even more incentive to keep at it and make the transition to this new lifestyle easier.

So, where am I right now? As of this morning, I weigh 262 pounds! This is the most I’ve ever weighed in my entire life. In March, I have a doctor’s checkup and I know he’ll be expecting me to be thinner. As long as I transition to this new behavior, it shouldn’t be difficult to loose quite a bit in three months. However, that is only a short term goal. The only real goal I want to set for myself is to be able to look back one year from now and appreciate how much I’ve transformed my health for the better.

I realize I said in my very first post that I wasn’t going to be using a “fancy freeware PHP blogging package” to run this site but after some serious nudging from my friends and a little experimenting I’m now running Wordpress. I have to admit, my earlier reservations were misplaced. This software is fantastic. I was really surprised how easy it was to port everything including my custom template. Not only does Wordpress give me a bunch of additional features such as site search, inline commenting, better Twitter integration and more but it will also allow the site to safely grow over time.

Why do blogs typically fail?  Because creating original content can be tough, especially for a shut-in like myself. So, to prevent falling into the same trap I’ve decided to add a twitter feed to this blog. It will be displayed at the top of the homepage.  Twitter is a fun tool specifically designed for sharing brief, rapid-fire posts of what’s going on in your life.  While my twitter feed will likely update more often than my blog, I’ll continue to make blog posts for bigger things like sharing photos and short essays.