iPhone Developer Kit Coming?

I crapped a brick the first time I saw the iPhone, and another when I heard that it wasn’t going to be open to third party developers or applications.  I understand their reluctance to let other people’s software near their proprietary media platform, but come on — for the iPhone to be a “revolution,” they need the support of the businesses and individuals who are chomping at the bit to write widgets that solve problems Apple hasn’t even dreamed of.

Anyhow, I guess the clamor over the last few months has been loud enough to be heard at Apple:

For Jobs, the question of third-party software was now a question of “when” rather than “if:” the main issues now were to protect the phone against crashes and security holes, which he said have frequently ruined the experience for smartphones in the past. Pressure on the firm to change its current, closed-off approach was evident in Jobs’ reactionary tone.

“We would like to solve this problem,” he said. “And if you could just be a little more patient with us, we’ll do it.”

(via AppleInsider.com)

Yay!

Kozmo Rises Again?

I don’t know how I missed this, but the CTO of Kozmo.com started MaxDelivery … which is like Kozmo, but with a limited number of products, and a less ambitious distribution scheme.

I still think the basic premise of Kozmo is valid — satisfying the instant gratification urge by delivering stuff to you in under an hour.  It’s just finding the right group of people who are willing and able to pay a premium for commodity items, and who reflexively turn to their computer when they want something.

Hmm.  Sound like anyone you know?

Non-Assertion Covenant

This is the first time I’ve run across something like this — Sun has stated in legalese that it will not to use any of it’s patents against OpenID. It’s an interesting idea, but how binding is such a statement? Is this a common occurrence?

Guitar Heroine

Bring it.

Office Decoration

So, we moved into a new house, and a significantly awesome part of the move is that I finally have my own office/study/hideaway. This isn’t just a room we call an “office” because it’s where we keep a cat box and a couple of filing cabinets. This is mine, mine, mine. And right now, it’s empty. So, I’m trying to fix that.

My first thoughts went straight to a villain’s lair. But, it’s too small for an intimidatingly large mahogany desk and moody lighting. Indeed, there’s nothing remotely intimidating about the space, nor do I have an empire to lord over, so there’s no practical use in pursuing a proper villain’s lair. Besides, I typically opt for good over evil, and a villain’s lair would be terribly expensive to build (volcanos and missile silos don’t come cheap, and the maintenance … phew).

Then I immediately flashed back to my childhood — I still like Star Wars, cartoons, and construction equipment, but I’d rather not come off as vaguely creepy when I explain to guests that we don’t have children. Plus, the real kids in the family might want to play with my toys. I don’t want to share, and kids fight dirty anyway. Especially girls. What’s up with the hair pulling?

Then there’s the “traditional guy” approach. I actually have a lot of old baseball cards and caps I could put up, but I’m not so good with the follow through discussions (“uhh, yeah, so how about that local sports team … ?”). I’m more “nerd” than “traditional guy” and I wouldn’t want to give people the wrong impression. Then again, I don’t like it when people ask me to fix their computers.

I do have a lot of cool old cameras and photos to put up. My collection of old paper money is kinda neat. I sense potential there.

Anyhow, I’m terrible at this interior decoration thing, but I’m determined to do it myself.

Anyone else have an office/study/hideaway they’re proud of? I’m lookin’ for inspiration, so it would be cool to see what other people have done.

Update: James pointed me towards Blik.  Neat big wall decals for grown up people.  Thanks.

The Wii Hours

Good times were had on Saturday — I stuffed my Wii in my bag and took it to the RailsConf parties.  We hit Joyent’s APPyhour first, but the Doubletree’s hotel TVs didn’t have external inputs.  WTF is up with that?  When someone’s staying in a “presidential” suite, there better be an opportunity to plug in a game console.  Regardless, I did connect with three guys I’ve been talking with for a long time, but hadn’t met in person — Chris Abad and Matt Browne (Integral Impressions), and Tim Trautman (Foorama).

Rails Machine threw down at the Red Lion, giving out heaps of t-shirts and prizes (including some sweet Rails Pimp Cups).  They also had really good meatballs.  But alas, no access to plug in the Wii.

Finally, the Pivotal Labs party at the Rock Bottom proved fruitful — our kind hosts even went as far as to get us an extension cord for the big screen.  Four person drunken bowling and tennis worked out pretty well until 1:00, when everything wrapped up.

Anyhoo.  Good times.  If you’re throwing a party at a nerd conference in Portland, drop me a line and I’ll bring over some hot Wii action.

Wanna Buy a House?

We’re selling our old house — if you’re looking for an opportunity to move to Portland and you’re looking for a cozy house in a friendly neighborhood, check it out.

What the listing doesn’t mention is that it takes 5 minutes to get downtown, has great public transportation (4 bus lines and the Max nearby), is within walking distance to good Mexican, Thai, pizza, cafes, and generally kicks ass. I guess “ass kicking” isn’t something realtors typically like to promote, but this house has it in buckets.

Looking for a Sr. Web Developer

With RailsConf in town this week, it’s a good time to mention that Blue Hill Solutions is looking for a Sr. Web Developer.

Specifically, we’re looking for an organized Rails guru who enjoys coaching others, and can step up to a leadership role in our development group.   We want a well rounded individual with at least ten years of software development behind them — bonus points for experience with e-commerce, scalable architecture, interface design, testing, and application deployment.

This is a salaried position, with aggressive bonuses, perks, and full health + dental coverage.  Our office is located in a trendy neighborhood in north Portland, with easy access to downtown, great accessibility via public transit, and within walking distance of a variety of good restaurants and coffee shops.  Although we don’t pay for relocation costs, we’re more than happy to talk with developers from other parts of the country!

Blue Hill Solutions is a start-up with a variety of web-based products, including intranet communication tools and  an evolving e-commerce platform.

Sound appealing?  Send an e-mail to hiring@bluehillsolutions.com with your resume and a description about why you think you might be a good fit.

Joyent Party

You know you’re having a good time when:

• Pitchers of beer outnumber the glasses on the tables.
• It’s standing room only.
• The accordion player covers Billy Idol and Guns n’ Roses.
• It’s nerds, nerds, nerds, nerds!

Joyent came to town for RailsConf and put together a “little” get together at the Lucky Lab tonight. It’s a good time reconnecting with friends, meeting new people from around the country, drinking beer, and getting our geek on. So, cheers to Joyent for sponsoring the copious consumption and bringing people together.

A couple unrelated tidbits:  Joyent has some pretty exciting news to be announced at RailsConf … and Grabb.it (“the MP3 eating rabbit”) has made a lot of progress in the last few months — it’s a pretty kick ass way to find and listen to new music. Check it out.

It’s a Wrap

Well, we raised a lot of interest and met some great people this week at the Corporate Communicators Conference in Chicago. The event ended this afternoon, so Nova and I hopped on the L and headed to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game. My first game at Wrigley — it’s a great place. The Cubs lost, but it was a beautiful day, and we had a good time.

I also learned that it was a polish sausage that lured The Wife out of her vegetarian lifestyle a few years back, on her first visit to Wrigley Field. She’s a purist, and couldn’t stand the idea of going to Cubs game without having one.

Baseball does weird things to people.