Update - 12/15/09 - Upload of Contacts is now optional in v1.1.  "What's new in Version 1.1.0 - Contact name upload now optional. Ability to delete previously uploaded contact names from server" Both big additions.  However I still would like to see them either instantly delete or give the option to delete past recordings and transcripts. Again nice step forward just need a little more before I would use.  But that is just me.


I have seen a few blog posts on a new App that does Voice to Text dictation on the iPhone, is supposed to work great and is free.  I even had a few people call / email in with reviews.  I thought wow what a great App I need to get this.  The App in question is Dragon Dictation from Nuance Communictions - Link to App store Page

After installing, the first time I launched the App I was greated with the mother of all End User License Agreements (EULA) - at least as far as iPhone Apps go.  At the bottom of the screen was a very big green button - which in my opinion is way to easy to accidently hit - so I copied over the information to make it easier for me and you to review before agreeing to the EULA. 




The section that will be the most concern to users and those in their contact list is section 3.3 - which states:

"As part of the Service, Nuance collects and uses: (1) the names of individuals and companies that appear in your address book in order to improve the quality of the Service when you speak a contact name in using the Service"

That by itself for many is game over. Do you really want to give up your friends and business associates for a free app?  However later in that section they follow on with:

...such information shall only be used by Nuance or third parties acting under the direction of Nuance pursuant to confidentiality agreements as identified above. Nuance will not: (a) use the names of individuals and companies that appear in your address book to contact anyone for any reason, or (b) use the information elements in of any Speech Data for any purposes except as set forth above.

Which does sound better when that is added in.  Howerver the next line is what was the deal breaker for me:

 Any and all information that you provide will remain confidential and may also be disclosed by Nuance to your wireless carrier, if so requested, or to meet legal or regulatory requirements, such as under a court order or to a government institution if required or authorized by law...“Speech Data” means the audio files, associated transcriptions and log files provided by you hereunder or generated in connection with the Service.

Sorry game over - I don't care how good the service is - I just can't justify giving up my contact information for a free iPhone App no matter how good it is.  When you go to the iTunes page for the App the reviews are split between 1 star for those parnoid consipiracy theorists like myself and 5 stars by those that live in a happy pretty butterfly world with shiny unicorns and don't care about privacy issues and are just looking for a good - free - dictation app. 

Hopefully Nuance will change their EULA and remove the requirement to upload contacts and will also immediately delete all recordings after transcription and delete the transcriptions as well.  When that happens I will gladly try out the app.  Might even be willing to pay for it.  But right now my friends can sleep easy knowing I did not sell them out for a free iPhone App. 

Here is the End user Agreement for Dragon Dictation so you can decide for yourself before downloading:


THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU (THE INDIVIDUAL OR THE ENTITY USING THE DRAGON DICTATION SOFTWARE AND SERVICE) AND NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS INC., ("NUANCE"). PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS CAREFULLY.



YOU MUST AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS DRAGON DICTATION END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (“AGREEMENT”) IN ORDER TO INSTALL AND USE THE SOFTWARE WITH THE DRAGON DICTATION SERVICE. BY CLICKING ON THE “ACCEPT” BUTTON, OR BY USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. YOU MAY NOT INSTALL OR USE THE SOFTWARE OR THE NUANCE SERVICE IN ANY WAY UNLESS YOU HAVE ACCEPTED THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.



Dragon Dictation is a client/server application, currently  available only in the United States, that permits users of devices to control certain operations of such devices via spoken commands, including, but not limited to, the ability to at least create text and email messages . The following general terms and conditions govern your use of the Dragon dictation applications (“Service”) and permit you to download, install and use the client software (“Software”) and accompanying documentation provided by Nuance for accessing the Service.



1.    LICENSE GRANT.  Nuance grants you (the "Licensee"), a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable limited license, in object code form only, to install and use the Software on a single Device to access the Service only in the United States.  A “Device” is any authorized Apple® iPhone®.  You acknowledge and agree that the Software will use your wireless network to send and receive data, and that your mobile operator may bill you airtime, data and/or usage fees.



2.    LICENSEE OBLIGATIONS.

2.1    RESTRICTIONS.  You may not: (a) submit any automated or recorded queries to the Service unless otherwise approved in writing by Nuance; (b) use the Service for commercial use; (c) access the Service with software or means other than the Software; (d) copy, reproduce, distribute, or in any other manner duplicate the Software, in whole or in part; (e) sell, lease, license, sublicense, distribute, assign, transfer or otherwise grant any rights in the Software, in whole or in part; (f) modify, port, translate, or create derivative works of the Software; (g) decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer or otherwise attempt to derive, reconstruct, identify or discover any source code, underlying ideas, or algorithms, of the Software or the Service by any means; (h) remove any proprietary notices, labels or marks from the Software;  or (i) use the Service for purposes of comparison with or benchmarking against products or services made available by third parties.





3. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. 

3.1    SOFTWARE AND SERVICE. Nuance and its licensors own all right, title, and interest in the Software and Service including, but not limited to, all patent, copyright, trade secret, trademark and other intellectual property rights associated therewith, and title to all such rights shall remain solely in Nuance and/or its licensors. Unauthorized copying of the Software or Service, or failure to comply with the above restrictions, will result in automatic termination of this Agreement and all licenses granted hereunder, and will make available to Nuance all legal and equitable remedies for breach thereof. 



3.2    THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE.  The Software and Services contain a copy of the Speex codec in executable form. You acknowledge that use of the Speex codec is subject to the conditions and disclaimers listed in revised BSD license found athttp://www.xiph.org/licenses/bsd/speex/.   © 2002-2003, Jean-Marc Valin/Xiph.Org Foundation.



3.3.    NAMES AND SPEECH DATA.  As part of the Service, Nuance collects and uses: (1) the names of individuals and companies that appear in your address book in order to improve the quality of the Service when you speak a contact name in using the Service, and (2) Speech Data, as defined below, to tune, enhance and improve the speech recognition and other components of the Service, and other Nuance services and products.  You acknowledge and agree that Nuance may collect the names of individuals and companies that appear in your address book and the Speech Data as part of the Service and that such information shall only be used by Nuance or third parties acting under the direction of Nuance pursuant to confidentiality agreements as identified above. Nuance will not: (a) use the names of individuals and companies that appear in your address book to contact anyone for any reason, or (b) use the information elements in of any Speech Data for any purposes except as set forth above.  Any and all information that you provide will remain confidential and may also be disclosed by Nuance to your wireless carrier, if so requested, or to meet legal or regulatory requirements, such as under a court order or to a government institution if required or authorized by law, or in the event of a sale, merger or acquisition of Nuance by another entity. “Speech Data” means the audio files, associated transcriptions and log files provided by you hereunder or generated in connection with the Service.



4.    SUPPORT.  To facilitate the process of evaluating and testing the Service and Software, Licensee may refer to Nuance frequently asked questions at: http://www.dragonmobileapps.com. For additional support, Licensee may request such support via the foregoing website, and upon Nuance personnel availability, Nuance may provide reasonable support services through fax, email or other means to Licensee with regards to defect and/or clarification of functions and features of the Software and Service.  Nuance Support is available during Nuance’s normal business hours, Mondays through Fridays, 8:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST (excluding legal and company holidays).



5.    DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT NUANCE IS PROVIDING THE SOFTWARE AND SERVICE TO YOU SOLELY TO PERMIT YOU TO EVALUATE AND USE THE SOFTWARE AND SERVICE. CONSEQUENTLY, YOU AGREE TO TAKE ALL PRECAUTIONS AND SAFEGUARDS NECESSARY TO PROTECT YOUR DATA AND SYSTEMS FROM LOSS OR DAMAGE. NUANCE PROVIDES THE SOFTWARE AND SERVICE “AS IS,” WITH ALL FAULTS, AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, NUANCE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.



6.    LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.  TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL NUANCE, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AND EMPLOYEES, OR ITS LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF USE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR COST OF COVER, ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR SERVICE, HOWEVER CAUSED, UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES IN ADVANCE.



7.    TERM; TERMINATION.  This Agreement begins on the earlier of your acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement or once you download the Software and expires upon termination. Nuance may terminate this Agreement, and the license granted hereunder, at any time in its sole discretion, with or without cause, by notifying you that the service has expired or has been terminated.  This Agreement shall terminate automatically upon the breach of any of its terms and conditions by you.  Upon termination, you shall immediately stop use of and shall delete all copies of the Software. 



8.    EXPORT COMPLIANCE.  You represent and warrant that (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.



9.    U.S. GOVERNMENT END USERS.  The Software is a "commercial item," as that term is defined in 48 C.F.R. 2.101, consisting of "commercial computer software" and "commercial computer software documentation," as such terms are used in 48 C.F.R. 12.212. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. 12.212 and 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-1 through 227.7202-4, all U.S. Government end users acquire the Software with only those rights set forth herein.



10.    TRADEMARKS.  Third-party trademarks, trade names, product names and logos (the "Trademarks") contained in or used by the Software or Service are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners, and the use of such Trademarks shall inure to the benefit of the trademark owner.  The use of such Trademarks is intended to denote interoperability and does not constitute: (i) an affiliation by Nuance with such company, or (ii) an endorsement or approval of such company of Nuance and its products or services.



11.    GENERAL LEGAL TERMS. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States of America, without regard to its conflicts of laws principles, and you hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and state courts in said Commonwealth in connection with any dispute arising out of this Agreement.  This Agreement shall not be governed by the United Nations Convention of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the application of which is hereby expressly excluded. This Agreement is the entire agreement between Nuance and you and supersedes any other communications or advertising with respect to the Software.  If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be revised to the extent necessary to cure the invalidity or unenforceability, and the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. The failure of Nuance to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Sections 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 10 of this Agreement shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.


Category:breaking news -- posted at: 5:44pm EDT
Comments[0]

Here are stories sent in from Listeners that tried the Droid and found it to be less (a lot less) than marketed.  So before making a change you will want to read these stories.  There is also this post from Stewart Alsop.

I will add more of these Droid Fail stories as they come in.



Rob,
 
Before I start - I am a technology junkie - especially when it comes to the "newest & greatest" cell phones! My friends and family laugh at me - because I am constantly upgrading my phone.
 
We have a Verizon contract (with 3 lines of service) as well as an AT&T contract (with 2 lines of service). I recently did some research comparing AT&T's plans vs Verizon's plans (voice AND data) and I decided it was more cost effective (especially when taking into account the cancellation fees for each contract) to keep the 3 Verizon lines, and cancel the AT&T contract. Besides - who really needs 2 cell phones? 
 
WHAT A MISTAKE!!!
 
I canceled my AT&T contracts the day the Droid was released. I was up early that day - and the Verizon store I went to - did have a line of people - waiting for the Droid - but the line of people (maybe 35?) ABSOLUTELY did not compare to the line at the AT&T store on the day of the IPhone 2G & IPhone 3G launch. (No one sleeping overnight in front of the store inhaling someone's car fumes - a throwback to your experience in line for your IPhone - I love that story!)
 
The HTC Droid - from initial comparison looked crisper than the IPhone. However, after further testing/use - it was HORRIBLE! We had SO many issues with the Droid - they were returned to the Verizon store 1 week after we purchased them.
 
These were the main issues we had:
1. The Droid would not voicedial from our Bluetooth headset
2. The Droid would not sync with our yahoo email accounts (hmmm ... google not syncing with their competitor yahoo - is that really a "missed kink" in the product?) :)
3. The App store SUCKS! Not user friendly AT ALL! I definitely prefer using Itunes on my PC to browse through the Apps.
4. The Droid is overly sensitive and would randomly dial people in our contact book
5. The calendar is VERY limited - granted I was finally able to sync it to my Outlook contacts/calendar - but the calendar fields were very limited - and half of my text did not appear for my activities - you know - the important stuff would be missing - half of the address, etc. HORRIBLE!
 
Unfortunately - the fact still remained that we didn't want to pay 2 cell phone bills each month - so we're still stuck with Verizon until our contracts run out - so I had to exchange the Droids for the Blackberry Storm 2 - not much better than the Droids ...
 
I hope this helps your listeners before switching out of AT&T to Verizon. Luckily - we can still use our IPhones as IPod touches @ home since we have WIFI.
 
Thanks for the great show! I love it! I've listened from episode 1!
 
Robin
Clinton Township, MI


Hi Rob,

I was just listening to Podcast number 102 through your Tii app - I know, I'm behind.  This is because I spent the last 2 weeks on the Android platform.  I've been having so much trouble with my iPhone dropping calls, and since my cell phone is my only phone, I finally ditched the iPhone and tried out the Motorola Droid.  That began quite the saga - as a jailbroken iPhone user, the bar is set pretty high on phones.  I used the Droid for a week before returning it.  As expected, it was quite buggy - this I could have lived with while the kinks are worked out.  What surprised me is that all the customization that people talk about on Android is, well, true.  But in order to achieve that customization, you have to download apps.  It's not built into the OS.  How do you find out about these customizations?  Good question.  The search function on the Android Market is incredibly BAD.  Seriously, this is Google?  I would read about an app on the web, search for it in the Market and come up empty - 80% of the time.  On the forums people would be talking about using an app, and there would be multiple responses about people being unable to locate it in the market.  It's so bad, that the platform uses bar coding to locate apps - this is the standard for posting links to apps in Android - because it's impossible to search by Keyword or even Title.  What's perplexing is that some people could find the apps, others couldn't using the exact same search terms.
 
In the end I returned the Droid because I couldn't stand the form factor.  I'm a mom, I was afraid I'd drop the thing on my baby's head and she'd get a concussion.  The thing is a brick.  And while I wanted a physical keyboard, I can type faster on the iPhone's keyboard than on the physical Droid keyboard.  Just not feeling the love there.  I tried out the HTC Eris next - this introduced me to all kinds of issues with Android.  You know how the commercials say that Droid can multi-task while the iPhone can't?  My jailbroken iPhone of course could, but on Android, you don't get a choice about multitasking.  There are no kill buttons in the apps.  So to leave a program you press the home key and it continues to operate in the background.  If you're like me, jumping between programs fairly often, you'll have 10-12 apps running in the background at all times.  No worries though, there's an app for that - lots of them.  So you download a task killer and when you run it shows you all the apps open at the time.  You can check off the ones you want to kill at that moment in time - of course, you want to be careful not to check off things like the keyboard, the OS, the battery meter, you know, little "applications" like that.  As a kicker though, I learned that the task killer was draining my battery - I was only able to get 2-4 hours of battery on my phone.  There's a handy little setting that you can look at to see if your phone sleeps - my consistently said I was at 80-100% awake.  Sitting on my desk looking very innocuous and the damn thing's still running.  I found that my battery life was dramatically better if I used the phone than if I left it sitting.
 
In the end I returned the Eris too, and dragged my sorry butt back to AT&T.  They took me and my money back.  A part of me is disappointed that the open platform that Android offers is not really in the same universe as the iPhone.  It would be nice to have another platform to challenge and spur development on the iPhone.  What blows my mind though, is the advertising that's going on and why Apple isn't exploiting the fact that the Android OS is half-baked at best.
 
Anyway, thought you might be interested in my experience.  If you know anyone who is thinking of switching, tell them I said that making phone calls that don't drop is over-rated.  Nothing can match the iPhone experience.
 
Amanda
gadgetmom88 on Twitter.

Category:breaking news -- posted at: 6:59am EDT
Comments[0]

When Apple made podcasting available on iTunes v4.9 back in the summer of 2005, Derek from Skepticality, myself and a few others tried to figure out Apple’s algorithm for ranking podcasts.  Thanks to an early bug in iTunes where you could unsubscribe and re-subscribe it allowed us to pick a few obscure podcasts and drive them up in the rankings and then see how long it took for them to drop and at what rate.  We were able to figure out that it was a seven day average with some weighted average put up front.  When Apple added Apps to iTunes and had a top 100 ranking I figured they probably were using the same or similar algorithm for rankings.  But to test my theory I needed an app in the app store and last month I was able to get the App for the Today in iPhone Podcast approved and in the App store.  The following is a graph charting the daily sales of the App vs the Peak ranking during that day in the Paid Productivity category.  



For a larger version click here

As expected the peak day for sales did not match up with the peak day for app ranking.  I tried plotting a weighted average with a few different formulas until I came to one that matched up pretty well and is a very simple algorithm. I am of the belief that simple answers are usually the correct ones – Some barber from the 14th century first figured that out.  The formula I found that matches up best to the movement of the Tii App in the rankings is:

(D1+D1+D1+D1+D2+D2+D2+D3+D3+D4+D5+D6+D7)/13

With D1 being the number of sales in the past 24 hours, D2 being the number of sales from 25 to 48 hours ago and so on.  

Granted you can’t prove this formula 100% as the actual rankings are also influenced by how well or not so well other apps around you are doing.  In other words you could hold your sales steady for two weeks straight and still see your App move up and down in the rankings as other apps around you have fluctuations.  That said when I plot the weighted average using the formula above vs. peak daily ranking you get the graph below:



For a larger version click here

As you can see it does match up pretty well.  So why do all this? Well one thing I am a geek and I love doing things like this.  But more importantly it tells you the importance of when you plan a PR / Marketing blitz for your app that you need to focus it almost all in a week’s period of time.  Don’t plan on doing one thing this weekend and another the weekend after and a third the weekend after that. Yes on going PR / Marketing is important as well, but you really need to do the majority of your PR / Marketing blitz in the first few days after you say go.  That is when you will get your best results for your efforts.  Don’t get me wrong I am not saying don’t bother doing PR and marketing after the first week - just that if you have a few “big things” planned make sure they happen at the same time.

Questions / Comments are welcome below - Spam is not.

Category:breaking news -- posted at: 10:56am EDT
Comments[0]

Let me tell you about my troubles getting my iPhone App into the App Store.  Now I don't know if these issues are because I called out those in the App store a "few" times on my show for approving apps that promoted killing babies, killing your classmates or getting stoned.  Or the times I called them out for not approving one of many different apps they should have (Google Voice, SpoofApp, Podcaster).  Again I don't know that this was them being vengeful or just the normal path people have to take to get approved. But I know which way I am leaning right now.

June 3rd 2009:
It all started back with the submission on June 3rd of the Today in iPhone App.  Which offers up instant access to all the back episodes of the Today in iPhone Podcast - plus bonus content to those with the app. Plus a bunch of other things which are meaningless to mention until the app gets approved. 

June 20th 2009:
The first rejection came on June 20th.  Reason for the rejection was:

Your application, Today in iPhone App, cannot be posted to the iTunes App Store because of iPhone usage in your product name.  We want to remind you of the importance of following Apple's posted Guidelines for Using Apple's Trademarks and Copyrights: http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/guidelinesfor3rdparties.html

Of course at the time - Apple themselves had just had their iPhone Trademark Rejected again by the USPTO.  See this blog post link for more info on that -  Update on Apple's Futile attempt at trademarking the name - iPhone

We changed the name to the Tii App and resubmitted.  After all they said it was an issue with the name and per their instructions we changed the name to remove "iPhone" - you know that name they had no legal right to - but hey it is their store and we will play by their rules.  Which they said are:

For example, the following are acceptable:
GreatApp - with tagline "for iPhone"
GreatApp - with tagline "iPhone edition"
GreatApp - with tagline "iPhone version"

The following are not acceptable:
iPhone GreatApp
iPhoneGreatApp
GreatiPhoneApp

So I guess the big issue was I used the word "in" instead of "for"  but splitting hairs here so lets move on.

July 2nd 2009:
Then on July 2nd we got our second rejection of the App.  

Your application, Tii Podcast App, cannot be posted to the iTunes App Store because of iPhone usage in your product name.  We want to remind you of the importance of following Apple's posted Guidelines for Using Apple's Trademarks and Copyrights:

Same as before - WTF we thought.  They included a screen shoot





Now we had changed the icon image to remove the word iPhone - but we had not changed the loader image - which still said Today in iPhone.  After all their original rejection said it was an issue with the App Name - not anything to do with loader images.  Again forget the fact they don't have legal rights to the name iPhone.  So we changed the loader image and again resubmitted.  

July 13th 2009:
Then comes the July 13th rejection.  

Your application, Tii Podcast App, cannot be posted to the App Store at this time because it does not achieve the core functionality described in your marketing materials, or release notes.  Applications must adhere to the iPhone Human Interface Guidelines as outlined in the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement section 3.3.5.

When the device has a cellular network connection via Edge or 3G, the application displays a message stating that internet access is required, as seen in the attached screenshot. This behavior may lead to user confusion. Note that the application works properly with a Wi-Fi connection. This review was conducted on iPhone 3G running iPhone OS 3.0.

This was a big WTF moment - until we realized this time Apple just screwed up in their testing and did not actually have a good cell connection.  Blame AT&T on this one also, as the App works great over 3G and edge if you have a 3G and Edge data connection - which clearly they did not have when they tested the app.  But you know they are under a lot of pressure to get lots of apps approved and don't have time to see if the issue is on their end or ours.  So we just re-submitted the app with no changes. A common thing to do with the App store I have been told by other developers, when you feel the issue is on Apples side.  Also there was no longer any issues with the Trademark BS - so that was a positive.  

July 17th 2009:
Then on July 17th (Quick Turnaround) we get the following:

Your application, Tii Podcast App, cannot be posted to the iTunes App Store because of iPhone usage in your product name.  We want to remind you of the importance of following Apple's posted Guidelines for Using Apple's Trademarks and Copyrights:

This time they were pinging us for the use of the phrase "Today in iPhone" that is in the title of the episode in the RSS feed.





At this point I was really feeling like they were just Fraking with me.  But they are the eight thousand pound gorilla and we sucked it up and created a new feed just for the App - where we removed "Today in iPhone" from all the episodes and the title in the feed.  Even in the descriptions for the episodes.  And once again we resubmitted.  

August 4th 2009:
Then on August 4th came this reply:

Thank you for submitting Tii Podcast App to the App Store. We've reviewed Tii Podcast App and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store at this time because it is not appropriately rated. Our review indicates that the application content is not consistent with the current rating. Tii Podcast App allows unfiltered access to the internet, where content with mature or suggestive themes can be accessed. Applications must be rated accordingly for the highest level of content that the user is able to access.

See one of the features in the App is a self enclosed browser for visiting my website. And I put in an App Age rating of 4+.  Actually have had 5 year olds call into the show.  I keep my show and website as clean as possible (This is true back to my Podcast411 days).  I beep out every word your Pastor would not use and a few he / she does.  I am as conservative as it comes with the language - sans the borrowing of the word Frak from BSG - But that is usually reserved to talk about Apple or AT&T.  But the reasoning for the rejection is that my App accesses outside content - Yes My outside content.  Which I make sure is clean - There is no way to type in a URL on the browser in the App. 

Apple has pushed others into changing their App to a 17+ rating and I don't want to make this a 17+ app.  So we just resubmitted the App with a 9+ rating.  Next will be 12+ - Which is the same rating as a certain tech Podcast App where they have heavy Alcohol  consumption.  Not going to name names here - we could do a whole post on the inconsistencies of the App store approvals - and many others have.  But if that App is approved at 12+ and you watch / listen to that podcast.  There is no way our App should not be approved at 4+ or now 9+.

In closing this has been a long and very frustrating process and when I talk to developers (which I do a lot of) I hear similar stories of frustration.   I have said it many times on the show - Apple needs to get better control of their App store approval process.  And now having walked the mile+ in the shoes of those developers that vent to me I am even more convinced of that.

I will update this post with all the future reasons for rejection that Apple can think of for my App.
Category:breaking news -- posted at: 2:02pm EDT
Comments[1]

Update 1: You can still use Redsn0w 0.8 as per the tutorial from July 2nd post below.  This according to the folks over at the iphone dev team.

Apple released iPhone OS 3.0.1 as expected and it patches the Text Hack Vulnerability highlighted this week at Black Hat.  If you are not jailbreaking your phone - then you should go now and update to 3.0.1 - It is available by checking for an update in iTunes with you iPhone connected.   And yes the Tethering Hack from help.benm.at - still works just fine.  Multiple confirmations on that. 

For those that are jailbroken - read this over on QuickPwn

More info to come on the jailbreak side of things. 


Category:breaking news -- posted at: 1:08am EDT
Comments[0]

Update 4: This tutorial works for OS 3.0.1 - First upgrade to 3.0.1 - then follow the tutorial below.  (8/2/09)

Update 3: Please Please Please listen to Episode 87 before emailing me questions.  Any questions emailed that I covered the answer on 87 will be read on a future episode where I will then make fun of you and call you all kinds of bad names - plus I will find those embarasing pictures of you from spring break and put them in as the album art.  But seriously - please listen to Episode 87 before emailing me.

Update 2: 7/9/09 - Added link to firmware for iPod Touch owners

Update 1: 7/7/09 - Redsn0w v 0.8.0 - iPhone 3GS now supported - links below updated.


There are some very good articles on how to jailbreak the iPhone but many miss a couple of steps up front that new jailbreakers need to know.  And then more importantly what to do when the jailbreak is complete - We will try to cover those two items here.

NOTE: Do not try to jailbreak if you don't like when things go to (expletive). If you need your phone for your business and being without it for any period of time will cause you to loose your job - stop now.  If you get mad at your significant other at how they fold towels or put the toilet paper on a roll - Jailbreaking is probably not for your personality.  Sometimes things break and your phone will likely crash more often then if it was not jailbroken.  Listen to Ep. 87 for more info.


1. First you need to download the software.  Make sure to download to your desktop.  Download Redsn0w per the links below:


Redsn0w - v. 0.7.2 (For iPhone 3G and Original iPhone)

Windows (here)

Mac OS X (here) 


Redsn0w - v. 0.8.0 (For iPhone 3G, 3GS, Original iPhone and iPod Touch 1G & 2G)

Windows (here)

Mac OS X (here)


Then Un-Zip the files once on your desktop.

2. You need to make sure your browser is set up such that it will not automatically open a file when downloaded.  In safari you need to go into preferences and unselect the check box next to "Open 'safe' files after downloading.."  See pic below - make sure that box is NOT selected.




3. Download the 3.0 firmware for the iPhone.  This will download as a zipped file make sure you do NOT unzip it.  If you unzip it nothing will work. To download the iPhone OS 3.0 firmware go to these links.

Original iPhone

iPhone 3G

iPhone 3GS

Link to site for iPod Touch Firmware - get the 3.0 version

4. Once you have downloaded the firmware to your desktop there will be a .zip extension at the end of the filename - you need to just delete that from the file name such that it ends in .ipsw (see pic below). Select "Use .ipsw"



5. Open up Redsn0w and then follow the on screen directions.  For a step by step on this part go to the following tutorial on iPhone-Hacks.com and look from step 3 on - when done come back here for more info.

VERY IMPORTANT - Do NOT select "Icy" - Just select "Cydia".  If you select Icy and Cydia to be installed - Cydia will not work. 


Ok you are back and your phone should be jailbroken now. So what do you do next?  Well first thing is to find the Cydia App on your iPhone.  It is brown with a white circle in it and says "Cydia" underneath.  See the image below.



Tap to open it.  The program will do some maintenance the first time you open it. 



Next you will be asked "Who Are You?"  If you are reading this article - then you are "User (Graphical Only)" - select that option. 



Then you will see a screen for "Essential Upgrade"  At this point select "Complete Upgrade"



If Cydia does not finish the update and you get an error message (see below) You may not have paid attention in step 5 above and installed Icy - check to see if Icy was installed as well.  If so then you need to restore the iPhone, using the standard factory fresh restore from iTunes, and start over.  Again listen to Ep. 87 and look for additional links in the show notes of that episode. 



This above is NOT what you want to see - if you do - then your choices are to jailbreak with the Pawnage Tool (Mac OS X users) or to try restoring from scratch and trying to jailbreak all over again with Redsn0w.  Here is the link to that tutorial - Mac OS X only

What you want to see is the following:



Please note sometimes tapping close Cydia Restart - will hang up and you will need to restart the iPhone.  Remember one of the down sides to jailbreaking is you will get more hangups and crashes.  Once you get back to the home screens - find Cydia and open it again.



Per the screen - Welcome to Cydia.  Tap on "Sections" in the bottom row.



Then scroll down to "Tweaks" and select it.



Scroll down to "Five Icon Dock" and select it.



In the upper right tap "Install"



Then tap "Confirm in the upper right.  When it is done you should be back to your home page.  If it hangs up after the install - remember to restart the phone by holding the Power and Home buttons together.'

Next select one of your apps and drag it into the bottom dock - you should now be able to place 5 items in the bottom dock and you have your first jailbreak app working. 




Category:breaking news -- posted at: 4:48pm EDT
Comments[0]

In the past we have talked about Apple's Lawyers attempts to bully Blogs over the use of the name iPhone (see episode 40), when Apple had no legal right to do so.  Apple often times in their letters to blogs referenced their trademark application serial number - 77007808.  As mentioned previously on the show a trademark application serial number has no legal merit - as it is simply a number assigned when an application was received.  Think of it like the ticket you pull at the deli counter.  It is just your place in line.  Back in Feb 2007 Apple had this application rejected.  Of course Apple appealed and during the appeal process switched up lawyers (guess they did not like the results with the first lawyer - but that is just a guess and not based on anything so lawyer 1 please don't sue for defamation).  The second lawyer faired no better as on Dec 16 2008, the USPTO sent Apple Final Refusal notification on the application for the Trademark on - iPhone.  Apple had six months to appeal and on June 16th 2009 - the last day of the six months - Apple did appeal. 
It is interesting that they waited until the very last day to appeal.  As the letter from Cisco (the only one that actually has a Trademark on the name - iPhone) consenting that they were ok with Apple getting a trademark on the term - iPhone - was actually received by Apple back on Nov 25th 2008.  This makes one think that Apple is not all that confident that they will be granted anything on Appeal. 
So where does this leave the application at this point.  There is now an "Ex Parte Appeal Pending".  According to the person I contacted at the USPTO -

"The ex parte appeal was simply instituted to preserve the rights of the filing party.
 
But first the examining attorney must act on the request for reconsideration after final action.  I.e. the appeal becomes moot if the examining attorney is convinced by the arguments presented in the request for reconsideration.
 
The examining attorney has 21 days from when the filing enters the docket (usually 2-3 days after the actual filing) to act upon the case.
 
If not convinced, then the appeal would move forward, and that process could take several months."

I additionally asked the USPTO - "if a Trademark is granted for this application - would it apply only to those items referenced in the Application:

"Hand-held unit for playing electronic games"

"Computer gaming machines, videophones, prerecorded computer programs for personal information management, database management software, electronic mail and messaging software, paging software, database synchronization software, computer programs for accessing, browsing and searching online databases, computer software and firmware, namely, operating system programs, data synchronization programs, and application development computer software programs for personal and handheld computers; software for the redirection of messages, Internet e-mail, and/or other data to one or more electronic handheld services from a data store on or associated with personal computer or a server; software for the synchronization of data between a remote station or device and a fixed or remote station or device"


In other words - since there would then be two Trademarks - one owned by Apple and one Owned (currently) by Cisco - would this not mean the specific application of the trademarks would need to be much more focused to only cover those items called out in the trademark Application."

The response from the USPTO was:

Yes, the application would only cover what is listed in the application.  

So my point in all this is it does look that even if Apple is finally granted a Trademark - which is very doubtful at best considering they have been rejected twice already including a "Final Refusal", and given the delay on their lawyers side to appeal, they appear to think it is doubtful.  But even if they are granted a trademark it would not cover the legitimate news sites / blogs / podcasts from using the name iPhone in their title and or site. So no need for you to have to change bookmarks for your favorite iPhone Blogs and podcasts.  More to come on this in the near future.

Category:breaking news -- posted at: 10:25pm EDT
Comments[0]

Was just given a hand out from the folks at Apple while waiting on line that goes over what you need to purchase your new iPhone 3G S.  Here is what it said:

You MUST be 18 years of age or older to purchase an iPhone because you must be able to enter into a valid contract with AT&T. 
   *If you are part of a Family Plan with AT&T, the Primary Account holder must be present at the time of purchase.

The following forms of ID are necessary to purchase and activate the iPhone:

If you are new to AT&T
Credit Card
Social Security Number
Valid U.S. Government-issues photo ID
if porting a number, your account number & password
   *this is different than your phone number
A deposit may be required
A $36 activation fee will be charged to your new account

If you are currently an AT&T customer
Your AT&T phone number
The last four numbers of your social security number
Your Billing Zip Code

***The Apple Store can only sell iPhone for Persona rate plans.  All Business customers must purchase their phone at an AT&T retail location.  The nearest one to this store is....

If you are upgrading from a previous iPhone:
You will lose voicemail in the upgrade, be sure to listen to them before the purchase
If you are a MobileMe subscriber, all of your contact and calendars from your previous iPhone can be updated to your new phone here in the store.

Ask us about MobileMe!


Category:breaking news -- posted at: 6:30am EDT
Comments[0]

Link to AT&T letter

If you are a 3G owner and wanted to upgrade at the $199 / $299 pricing - AT&T heard you and has changed the pricing for the Upgrade assuming you were set to be able upgrade in July / August or September.  Please read the post from AT&T at the link above to see if you are one that would qualify this week for the lower pricing. 

Kudos to AT&T for listening - now get us that MMS and Tethering.  :)


FYI - Thanks to Chris in NY for sending this along.


Category:breaking news -- posted at: 1:39pm EDT
Comments[0]

The company I work for Wizzard Media - yesterday announced that we have acquired the distribution rights to another app - Super Mastermind - I am very excited about the work Wizzard is doing in the iPhone space.  Personally this ties together everything I have worked on for the past 4 1/2 Years in Podcasting and 2 plus years with the iPhone. That said this post is also about full and fair disclosure.  As Wizzard acquires more and more iPhone apps - the question is bound to come up - is the app I just talked about on the show - one that is under the Wizzard umbrella.  So as more apps are acquired I will be posting them up here - to point out who they are  to make sure you know where I stand.  Becasue sometimes I am doing the show at 2 or 3 in the morning and well I forget to mention things I should.  Like mentioning I own apple stock each show and I am long on Apple - but you know if you listen to the show that does not stop me from criticizing Apple when I feel they deserve or need it.  So here is the list of apps that are currently under the Wizzard umbrella:

Super Mastermind
Omnomnom
Touch Scan Pro
Blue Attack
Blue Defense
Sudoku Unlimited
Sudoku Classic

You can find an updated list of the shows HERE

Now per the news side of things - all of those apps are currently at a reduced price of $0.99 thru Tuesday June 16th - according to the press release. As I said above I am very excited with what Wizzard is doing in combining Podcast Advertising with iPhone App promotion - it is one of those obvious Peanut Butter and Jelly combinations where both sides will benefit. And as a podcast listener myself - I would much rather hear an ad for an App I might be interested in - than another ad for a domanin name company.

Again - I will do my best to mention conflicts of interest on the show - but will definitely put those conflicts up here on the site for all to see.

Thanks for listening different.

Rob W

Category:breaking news -- posted at: 10:22am EDT
Comments[0]

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