The Mac App Store is Killing Demo’s
With all of these app stores are we about to see the end of the demo?
I am of the mindset that I need to evaluate software before I buy it. On windows this is not a problem as I can download a 30 day trial and then either delete it or buy it after I see if the application is going to work for what I need. This is especially important when evaluating software for business purposes. On the Mac I can no longer find Demo’s and am reduced to a paragraph and 5 screenshots to evaluate a purchase. This is simply not enough for me. Let’s take a look at Hype as an example.
While $24.99USD is not that much money I can say that I wouldn’t pay more than $4 for anything I couldn’t actually touch first. Hype expects this. As stated Hype is graphics engine for creating HTML 5 animations without having to learn canvas. A much needed piece of software in this early HTML 5 time. Now I am sure that Hype does what it is supposed to do and does it well. Wouldn’t it be better if instead of just shelling out $25 bucks to find out we could test drive the software or heck even have a 30 day return policy? I think so. As of right now if you shelled out the $25 bucks and didn’t like Hype the only thing you could do is refuse payment on your credit card. There is no return policy, There is no customer service for the App Store. So in order to accommodate this some application devs are forced to create a Light version.
I find that if a light version is available I never go back and get the full version. I either delete the light version or I use the light version and work around it’s limitations. So this is a disappointment for me and the developer for me because I don’t get the full experience that I should and for the developer because they never get my money for their hard work. I don’t mean to cheat the dev’s out of their money but I won’t waste my own time searching for another version of a program that works for me that I have for free.
I hope Apple listens and gives us either a demo download or a way to return software we don’t want.
What are your thoughts.
Osama Bin Laden is Dead – Funniest Twitter Quotes
Graciously borrowed from http://sheikyermami.com/
So Osama is dead… shot in the dome-piece as I heard on the radio this morning. I could hardly believe it when the stream first started coming over twitter. My first thoughts was how long have we been looking for that guy? and Ok now what.
Anyway with the flood of tweets to read about I got amped up and decided to post my favorite ten tweets of the event.
@DanaArikane:
"They should have captured Bin Laden alive and made him continually go through airport security for the rest of his life."
@rochellethestats:
"It’s like a Disney film… The Prince marries the Princess and the villain dies #justice"
@sickipediabot:
"So Osama Bin Laden is dead… Amazing what the Americans can do when the playstation network is down."
@Allwazerite:
"I bet Osama Bin Laden was killed after his personal information was leaked in the Playstation Network security breach."
@jesus:
"Sorry, you’re at the wrong gate, Osama."
@JediJunkie:
"Looks like Osama signed up for Foursquare on the wrong day."
@rudygay22:
"Ok so we killed Osama. Now all we have to do is find Wald and Carmen San Diego! Then I will be impressed!!!"
@unknown:
"Osama Bin Laden, Waldo, Carmen San Diego… #WorldHideAndSeekChampions" *
@NZAfro:
"R.I.P Osama Bin Laden – World Hide And Go Seek Champion (2001 – 2011)"
@davidbates:
"I bet Apple found Osama Bin Laden using that Remote Iphone Data… he was selling goats on ebay"
* I saw this one but could not find it again once I started writing this post… if your that person contact me on twitter.
Hope you enjoy National “We kicked his ass” day
David Bates
Digital Snow
Above is another creation from Barbara Hullett her original artwork is on the right with my vectorization on the left.
This drawing was inspired by the recent weather events and modern times. The recent weather events are also known as the biggest let down in weather this century. Several counties around the triad called off school in anticipation of Snowmageddon and nothing showed up until well into the evening. Facebook and Twitter were both on fire with scowls of angry parents telling the school board and the weathermen that they had waisted their precious PTO.
I myself even got caught up in the hype staying home Monday and working remotely.
Hope all you stay warm and enjoy the imagery.
David Bates
Wikileaks, my two cent
#wikileaks I see this as two independent problems.
1. The guy who posted classified information on the web should be tried for treason. What they did is no different than stealing the documents and selling them to china.
2. The government should have the right through a due process to take down a site hosting classified information. If it is an international site it is still their IP. However I do not agree with the ability to ban a domain or site after the offending material has been collected. Again with due process.
The main point is aside from IP (classified gov. Documents) the government should not be able to influence the Internet.
If a site post about how to build a bomb they should be able to. I am not saying that I would ever read it but I should have the right to be able to view it if I choose to do so.
I made this speech to a couple different groups today and the question came up about child pornography. “Surely you are not saying if it is ok to post about a bomb it is also ok to post child pornography?”
My response is no it is not ok but for a different reason. Consent. A child cannot consent to having their nude picture displayed. By describing how to build a bomb you are committing no felony. A person that builds that bomb later is committing a felony. The difference is that the act of posting a pornographic picture of a child is a crime in itself.
My 2 cents
David Bates
