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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor (slightly modified)

 

There is always going to be a lowest common denominator platform. That used to be Windows. Now it’s the web.

John Gruber, Yet More on the Unfolding Future-of-Flash-and-the-Web Saga

…So is it any wonder that, as companies get bigger, their productivity per worker goes down and down, until we get Microsoft, with billions flowing through it and amazing profitability and lots of smart people, unable to create anything new? For years and years?

Bruce Eckel, Wrong Correctness [via The Faster Software Project]

When you start developing on the web, your default is to be smart, to interact and to be open (with other software and with your users). Desktop software (like Word) is insanely unaware of what I do, why I do it and who I do it with.

Seth Godin, The end of dumb software

The Case against Literary (and Software) Patents

Timothy B. Lee: “We use programming languages to express mathematical concepts in much the same way that authors use the English language to express other types of ideas. Unfortunately, the recent proliferation of patents on software has made the development and use of software legally hazardous.”

Thanks to this article for informing me about the upcoming Bilski v. Doll case, which the Supreme Court is due to hear in the coming term.  It will potentitally lead to a definitive ruling on the legality of software patents and business-method patents. [via Felix]

The productivity of a software engineer has increased 2-3 times that of a marketing person in the last ten years. Yet their relative compensation has remained about the same. That means if you are a savvy company, you should stock up on engineers. In fact, you would want as many great engineers as you can get a hold of.

Auren Hoffman, Engineers Are The Best Deal - So Stock Up On Them

…if you throw a requirement over the wall, which is what most requirements document authors pridefully do, it’s about as likely to succeed as throwing a hand grenade — people will scream and run. But if instead the requirements document is something they feel they contributed do, that it’s in part their document, they’ll run towards it, love it, and work hard to make it real.

Scott Berkun, Why requirements stink

On Variety Among iPhone Apps

Mac developer Brent Simmons asks, “How many Twitter clients and to-do lists on [iPhone] App Store Day One?”

I’ve been thinking about iPhone Apps recently, and I agree with what I think Brent is trying to say: certain categories of iPhone applications will be saturated.  Many of these will be relatively simple apps made by novice developers enticed by the iPhone’s popularity (and maybe by the iFund).

To his list I would add Flickr uploaders, simple games, feed readers (I’ll be holding out for NNW Mobile, Brent), podcatchers (with network access on the iPhone, who needs iTunes to download Podcasts?), and video capture apps.

The challenge is to think of app ideas for areas of the market that will not be over-saturated.  Time to brainstorm…