Day: March 30, 2010

See Cracking Facebook's Dominance: New Cross-Network Commenting Protocol Could Be a Game Changer.

Am all for cracking dominance, Facebook's or otherwise. It is mindboggling that 400 million people needed a new version of AOL to enjoy the web. From that article, this sounds so weak:

Simply put, if you could leave Facebook and still communicate with people using Facebook (you can't today) then leaving Facebook would be a lot easier, and more social networks would have reason to invest in building a compelling service for you to use. If there was more than one meaningful option, those services would compete to build the best social network they possibly could. And Facebook would have more reason to be careful when considering dramatic changes in things like its privacy policy. Today, where else are you going to go without losing touch with all your friends?

You can pretty much find anyone with a few seconds' diligent googling. Why is being in instant, annoyingly close "poke" range of everyone you ever knew from the date of your birth to the present so important to people? I don't get it. (Obviously I am not on Facebook.)

Just found this in my inbox, sent by a friend who knows how much Apple is treasured around here (sarcasm):

Dear _______,

First of all, we would like to thank you for your patience and understanding regarding the unpleasant upgrade experience with FileApp (v. 1.5)

So please allow us to apologize for our relative lack of reactivity in communicating on this issue, we were a little bit confused.
We understood some users had upgraded before they had a chance to read our warning, unfortunately.
Lesson learned, and we wish to inform you on what is going on, and what is coming up.

Now comes the good news:

After discussions with Apple they have become aware of the enormous amount of dissatisfaction expressed by our users.
Therefore Apple has agreed to let us submit an update that will re-enable USB connectivity to all users that have installed a previous version of either FileAid or FileApp.
If you wish to enjoy USB file transfer again you should make sure you have any previous version installed and ran at least once.

All versions will qualify for the upgrade - if you deleted it, just install the current version (1.5) and launch it right now! Then you should upgrade to FileApp v. 1.6 when it is released on the AppStore and USB file transfer support will be available to you again. Futur upgrades should carry on USB support as well.

This feature is only available to you as former FileAid user.

Please note: The release and applicable schedule are subject to Apple App Store approval process, please be patient!

Best regards,

Vic & The DigiDNA Team

Such nervousness in the presence of absolute power was not seen again until this comment in response to a Paddy Johnson hat tip.