P'unk Avenue Window

Star Wars Uncut is finished! And next Wednesday, August 11th at 6pm we’ll be screening the entire crowdsourced, fan-remade movie on the projector in our office. I’ve downloaded the whole darn thing and assembled the most popular scenes as voted by the participants. This stuff is awesome.

Please join us for beer, snacks and force-fueled goodness. Or as Chewbacca would put it, “AROUUUUHUUHHHH! ARRRRRGGUUUUU! ARROOOOHAAAAAAH!”

PLEASE RSVP by commenting here so we have a rough idea how many people to expect. Keep an eye on this blog for updates in the event of catastrophic popularity and other natural disasters.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

“Where?” 1168 E. Passyunk Ave, South Philly.

“When?” Wednesday August 11th, 6pm.

“Who?” Grownups and teens. There is some adult humor in two very funny scenes that totally deserve to be in the movie.

“Who made this?” Casey Pugh of Vimeo created and executed this brilliant project. Fans all over the world contributed 15-second scenes.

“Did you guys submit a scene?” Yes, I (Tom) did, but it didn’t top the voting for that scene. Here’s my scene:

“Will there be more crowdsourced movies?” Pugh says there will be an Empire Strikes Back Uncut. Personally I’d like to see Big Lebowski Uncut. If you know what I mean. And I think you do.

PLEASE RSVP by commenting here. Thank you!

There are now 10,000 Android developers, as opposed to 40,000 for the iPhone. And Google is gearing up to release App Inventor, a tool for nontechnical Android app developers that is strikingly similar to the Scratch programming environment for kids. Meanwhile Android phones themselves are catching up quickly, although the iPhone 4 remains the coolest thing around.

Like many others I’m sure, I considered developing a tool like this and abandoned it after coming to grips with Apple’s harsh policies on the subject of alternative programming environments:

3.3.1 — Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited).

Google’s reliance on crowdsourced quality control for apps isn’t perfect but it is beginning to add up to a real difference in spirit. As Android phone sales grow, making development for it an even more viable proposition, content creators will eventually vote with their feet for the platform where they feel most welcome and walk away from the walled garden.

I have an iPhone and I love it, in part because of Apple’s excellent quality control in the core applications. If Apple’s competition here were as bad as their competition in the MP3 player market— companies with almost no grasp of design— I wouldn’t doubt the outcome for a moment. But Android also has quality designers at play. Google’s approach to design may be a bit plodding and obsessed with A/B testing, but it does get results.

Apple knows they must continue to release cutting-edge hardware, but they don’t seem to grasp what it takes to maintain a welcoming developer platform once there are viable alternatives in the game.

I’m going out on a limb here: a year from now there will be as many Android apps as iPhone apps. 18 months from now Android phone sales will surpass iPhone sales. Apple will still have the sexiest phones, and will still command a premium price for them. But inside two years the iPhone will occupy a niche similar to that of the Macbook.

Bringing together great people for Ignite Philly on a weekday evening has been great… imagine what a Saturday night Ignite Philly will be like! That’s right, we are beginning planning now for Ignite Philly (3). It will take place once again at Johnny Brenda’s on the evening of May 2, 2009.

We are looking for inspiring speakers that are doing cool things in Philadelphia. Are you working on a rad project, have something interesting to say or know someone that is? Please comment with links and we will do our best to follow up and get them on the stage. Keep in mind, this is not a sales event. This is about sharing ideas.

My brother, Kerry, was hiding in the wings of the Pre-Blog Philadelphia party with his camera. He recently finished everything together into a great little piece.

Good times had by all.