Live @ Sax.net

A few months ago I created EasyWriter, my first iPhone application. Although it started out as a bit of an experiment, EasyWriter became an instant hit with millions of downloads and a mass of delighted users. The purpose of the application was to let you write emails using a bigger, horizontal keyboard. Apparently Apple took notice because the latest version of the iPhone OS has some of EasyWriter’s capabilities as a built-in feature.

The release of the latest iPhone OS has effectively rendered the original version of EasyWriter obsolete. I’ve received a few emails from users enquiring if I plan to take or lobby for legal action against Apple for doing this. After all, that’s what companies like Netscape and Opera have done when Microsoft integrated some of the capabilities of their products into the operating system. The short answer is: absolutely not.

The instant success of EasyWriter made it clear that iPhone users wanted a feature that Apple had not anticipated. It’s perfectly natural for Apple to respond to this by improving their own software and meet the needs of their customers. Even if the iPhone’s dominance in mobile computing is rapidly approaching the level that Windows has enjoyed on the desktop, there’s nothing that should stop Apple from pleasing its customers. I believe in innovation, not litigation.

Working with giant companies like Apple is very much like dancing with an elephant: Sometimes you can get on top and enjoy enormous success while riding it. However, you have to be ready to respond quickly or you’ll fall off and get stomped when the elephant’s foot comes down. The elephant doesn’t even realize she may be squishing you. It’s up to you to turn every challenge into an opportunity.

So where does that leave EasyWriter? Alive and kicking! A new version, designed specifically for iPhone OS 3.0 is under development. I’m sure that iPhone users everywhere will appreciate the spell checker, Blackberry-style AutoText, and other innovative features. Innovation, not litigation.

Like many site analytics applications, Google Analytics will track how many site users have Java, Flash, and other web technologies installed on their system (and which version). Notably absent from the list are the .NET Framework and Silverlight. I like Google Analytics, but this information is very important for me.

Nikhil Kothari has created a workaround with a snippet of Javascript code that will detect Silverlight and set Analytics variables.

Workarounds – even elegant ones like this one – often end up being maintenance problems. The possibility of something creating an unexpected Javascript error on every page of our website is not acceptable.

Maybe it’s time to check out Microsoft adCenter Analytics