Wave’s Google Problem

Google has announced that it will axe its Google Wave product due to insufficient demand. Wave is a real-time communication system that could potentially replace e-mail, instant text messengers and collaborative text editors. It also has a plug-in system to include further functionality.

Some think it is the extended or mixed functionality that lead to Wave’s lack of success. IMHO Google Wave has an excellent feature set.

I think Google Wave basically lacks just one thing: a native client.

You just can’t replace native app functionality and system integration with browser pages. HTML 5 won’t change that fact either. John Gruber is right when he says Wave is a very Google-y product. In this case Google’s browser-centric approach was just the problem.

Addendum:
To prove my point, just ask yourself: Would you use Twitter without a Twitter client?

The iPad Will Revolutionize Publishing (And That’s Not All)

Despite the iPad’s negative reception in the tech blogoshere (for example the Engadget team’s reaction, or compare this »Fake Steve« video or David Appleyard’s somewhat feeble defence of the iPad) …

I am convinced that the iPad will not only revolutionize modern computing but also will revolutionize publishing.

Today there are printed journals, HTML-web-pages and—already—iPhone (and iPod) apps for many journals, which have their own native interface. Since iPhone screens are very small those native clients are an addition to regular printed journals or web pages but certainly no replacement.

Now imagine those native journal clients optimized for the iPad!

That is a whole new world for publishing. Journals will have full multimedia capabilities, no restrictions due to HTML, CSS or Javascript limitations (although those clients will almost certainly use these technologies), and most importantly …

they will be able to use micropayment via the AppStore and In App Purchase.

Thus Publishers will eventually be able to earn money with their electronic publishing just like the can charge for their printed journals. Even more, they can easily introduce new payment options like time-based subscription, pay-per-article, pay-per-quota, you name it! They can even create opt-in or opt-out models for advertisement. People who despise most ads (like me) can pay for ad-free publications. Or people who don’t care or even like ads might be able to pay a budget price for publications with ads.

Apart from that I still think that the iPad shows us today how computing for the masses will work tomorrow. Apple IMHO has just released the most important electronic device of the new century. Just watch the revolution take place!

P.s.:
I surely didn’t come up with this; check Om Malik’s article from back in February 2009: »Can Apple Please Kick-start Micropayments?«

Or read the following article by the German news magazine »Die Zeit«, with a more skeptical undertone but recognizing the iPad’s potential: »Symbol der neuen Ordnung«. Google translation: »Symbol of the new order«. Or view this pro/con discussion: »Is the IPad (sic) Publishing’s Saviour?« or watch this video on Forbes: »Apple iPad: Publishing Saviour?«.

P.p.s.:
I must say that I wrote some of the above in some sort of naïve ardour. Much depends on how strong the momentum (i.e. market share) of the iPad will be. Paying options depend on Apple’s terms for the App Store. But I still think that to a large extent the future of reading is electronic, now that I have seen a device that, both, aesthetically and in terms of usability, can compete with books and journals.

Update:
The CEO of Axel Springer, a German newspaper publishing corporation, says the iPad is starting a new era, says Steve Jobs is saving the publishing industry:

• Article on Heise Online (German).
• A video of the interview (English). Note: You should ignore the second half of the interview in which the CEO expresses his right wing conservative political views, although it is interesting, almost funny—and a little frightning—how fond this self-proclaimed defender of democracy and freedom is of China’s non-democratic version of capitalism (“It’s a very interesting version! You don’t have to discuss. You just do. You’re very efficient!”).

Update p.s.:
Of course the content industry can always screw up, also on the iPod. It seems the first Axel Springer newspaper app is terrible: Article on Netzwertig.com (German).

New iTunes Store (iTunes 9) Partly Sucks Compared to the Old Version (iTunes 8)

Frankly, the new iTunes Store in iTunes 9 sucks badly in some respects compared to the old iTunes Store (in iTunes 8). It has limited functionality and IMHO a much less orderly and more confusing look.

The main reason for that is that Apple is now using HTML to display songs in the store and not a custom made native interface like in the iTunes 8 store. Thus songs in the store no longer are displayed like songs in iTunes library but are displayed as web page items—just like in any other music store. This results in a vastly partly pretty much inferior user experience.

Let’s have look at some of the functionality:

• In the old store songs were displayed as iTunes library items. You could drag them to playlists, arrange them, compare them and rate them.
• In the new store instead you are limited to one feeble “wish list” that basically has no other functionality than to just display some songs.
• You can add those songs only one by one, there is no drag and drop.
• And last but not least: Apple has also removed the shopping cart function. You can’t even collect different albums and songs to purchase them together.

Putting all of this together one has to conclude that Apple has killed some of those very features that made the iTunes Store a huge success, that is a shop interface that works seamlessly with your favourite music jukebox. The new iTunes Store is now basically just another web store.

Please Apple, reconsider and bring back the native iTunes interface for the iTunes Store!

Addendum:

OK, actually some of the new features are quite cool (for example the new “i”-button which lets you see and listen to an album immediately). Still I would like to have access to the songs in the store the old way i.e. as an iTunes song object. A possible solution could be to provide a link with every song and album that would lead to the song/album in Browse view (that view is still available) or to provide a method to display search results in Browse view.