#seriouslywrong

How @lostoyanov eats @thecakepushernyc #seriouslywrong #worldcuphouligan #howdthishappen

That's sort of expanded into a long post, but it has sort of bothered me. Some parts of this story have rightfully, I think, pissed me off. So, it's better to write it down and get to something more constructive. I've removed the names of all the people involved, of course. And, of course, I'm the sole responsible of my thoughts and writings. Background story: we're going paper-free and will equip each student with a tablet. That's 500 to 1000 pieces, a decent market for education devices. I really thought I would never get into the fanboys - fandroid war, mainly because I didn't care. Here's the thing (disclaimer): I've been a happy Apple Dev for quite a while now, and I simply didn't care about the Android ecosystem, and the ongoing wars with the Apple ecosystem. Just no need to, no time for. There are a few reasons, but let me outline just the main ones: - the handling of the GPU by iOS has been a feat. The flexibility it has offered me goes a long way, and proves to be of major importance for the things we're doing now and in the near future. Getting real engineering apps on tablets requires some frameworks that simply do not exist on other platforms. - I don't believe in stolen tech. For those of us that have been around for long enough, we've seen what happened with Apple/Microsoft in the 90s, and 20 years of crapware as a result (both hardware and software). - I prefer to pay and keep my data private. I don't trust anyone with my data, and particularly not google. After all, I had to remove all my data from gmail, which I used as a commodity for large email, after my account was hacked. I had a strong password, and it didn't deter the Chinese hacker from brute forcing it. So, as a generic rule, when a service sucks I'm all out. - I'm quite happy with the Apple ecosystem. It is not perfect, but allows me to get the content I want when I want, among other things. And it's proven rock solid. - as a scientist turned entrepreneur turned developer, I had to put food on the table. And 3rd party app development together with app sales has been good for that purpose - I tend to laugh at bold statements like "don't be evil". Dudes, I don't trust you with my data. Period. Even if you're all well intentioned, which I doubt, what happens the day management changes and the shareholders and/or the board decides they want a bigger ROI? Need I remind you that you royally fucked-up all the social services you've ever acquired. And most services you developed. Google Reader, anyone? - am I the only one, or is the monopoly on the "web", gained as google became the primary portal to enter it, completely creepy? Serving me better ads? I'm independent, don't try to tell me what I need (I don't need you for that), where I should be (go there and fuck yourself first), or what I should think (actually, get to room 101 and fuck yourself there). Now if you don't have any problem with the above you're probably the proud owner of a device powered by the charming android system (more on that later, I actually went and tried some Samsung knock-offs). And honestly, I don't have any problem with it: that's your choice, that's your phone or tablet. Again, I'm not the one using it, couldn't care less. Where I did have a problem, actually, was when I realized that this is not a matter of choice that can be discussed anymore, but has become a religion. I've been a scientist for most of my adult life, and have owned a personal computer for the past 30 years. I have used all flavors of Unix, Microsoft and Apple systems. I do also have earned a PhD, am a full professor and now head of department... and have worked in public, semi-private and private environments. All of that combined leads me to be a pretty good and quick judge at people who are bullshitting me. And boy, did they try to pull this one on me last week. To the point it was absurd and I actually laughed. And also saw something I had never, ever, experienced in my professional life: pure, unabated, hatred in their eyes. That, I must confess, I didn't expect (and that's actually why I decided to write this post). For 3 hours in a row they gave me the Android evangelism, which could be summarized in one sentence: "I hate Apple (irrationally)". Here are the traditional arguments [my answer in brackets]: - Android is open [nope, not really, and beside I doubt any of our students will recompile the core, and certainly wish no one ever has to] - Android is winning [seriously, have a look at Asymco.com] - Apple doesn't have all the apps a student needs [you must be kidding me, right. Not only it's got everything, it's got more, and they're actually designed for the iPad, not blown up apps with unadapted graphics elements to cover the whole range of screen geometry of me-too devices] - Apple is expensive [I'n definitely challenging you on that one, you moron] - Why should we settle for a sub-par experience when Android is better [please define better] - you can run Flash on an Android tablet [not really, and that's a tech that is bound to disappear within a few months anyway] - Apple sucks [I didn't answer that one, it involved the Mum of the person speaking, and a kodiak bear] Here are some less traditional - that's the first time I heard of them - arguments: - you can't connect a keyboard to an iPad [you must be kidding me. Get to the web page of you least favorite company] - when you connect a keyboard to an Android tablet, the batteries of the keyboard extend the battery life of the tablet [well, the iPad doesn't need to have its battery extended. If you need to have a keyboard for that purpose, use a laptop] - yeah but if we ask the student to carry a laptop on top of that, he will hate the tablet [do you hear yourself talking and make sense of it? Negation of negation in language is not equal to positive... Loosing your mind dude] - you can run eclipse and compile apps on an Android tablet. You can't compile on an iPad. So you need a computer. [here's the thing: no one, repeat no one, would ever develop a full app on a tablet. I've used VIM successfully to modify some HTML, PHP and even some obj-C files, compiled remotely, but that's not for the faint hearted... And definitely not for beginners. So, it is possible. Entirely possible, but difficult. Now, I doubt that you can write anything on a 7" tablet in eclipse. Do you own a tablet - No. For reference I purchased a 30" screen to use eclipse comfortably. I doubt that you can see more than 2 square inches of code in eclipse on a tablet, if it even exists. Besides the loading time on a craplet must be interesting. That said if you really want to go that way, I'm ready to do 2 weeks of paired programming with you on a tablet and I on my laptop, to see how much you're enjoying it]. - yes but some students may want to develop [we'll get them on workstations, that's what they're for] - Accounting students won't be able to use Excel [they'll use Numbers] - but they will have to buy their apps [Now that's an interesting one. I'm going to teach students how to develop and sell apps, and earn an honest living. That's what we're here for after all. But you want me to teach them how to hack and steal first? Because you're not going to procure official apps from an official market, right? How am I supposed to teach the value of software, hard work, to students if the first thing we teach them is that buying when you can hack is for suckers? Btw, we're giving students tablets that are fully loaded, and deploying our 500 devices like so] - it's out of the question that our students learn objective-C. [seriously, listen to yourself. We're dealing with the future of the students, not your personal vendetta. I do believe that students who come out with a Mobile Tech diploma, whatever it is, should be able to code in at least C (that's the base requirement), objective-C and, yes, Java. This should cover 97% of heir front-end needs. Now for the ones seeking credits for the back-end, that's another story. But we're in the job of providing value to our students and to society... that means delivering students that can code when they're supposed to, using languages they're supposed to know in 2012.] - but not everyone needs to know how to code. [leave aside that everyone who graduates now should, particularly your techno-preneurs. Now think about how enormous what you're saying is: how would you like to hire an engineer that cannot perform any mathematical calculation? - that's not the same. - yes it is, and FYI when I interview an engineer, if he can't solve a simple integral within the first 3 minutes he's out. That's pretty much the same for developers. If they can't write code they're out] - the stylus on Android tablets are better.[man, you should really at least _try_ to use a tablet. Just once]. - you haven't tried a Samsung Galaxy [I have, it's not a bad device, despite various UI inconsistencies. But that deal is off anyway, as their rep clearly told us that i- they didn't want to enter any partnership with us, and ii- assorted this declaration with a few racist comments I do not want to repeat. Oh well... Let it be know that it was really shameful. For this reason alone I will never own _any_ Samsung product. Now let me be fucking clear: any human, whether he's white, black, yellow, red, blue or green, will bleed the same. The same, of course, goes with gays & lesbians, believers in various religions, etc... All are entitled to education, and you're just lucky not to have called my Students "primitives and not worth it" in front of me. I'd have sent you back to Korea in separate boxes. I seriously hope this guy was an exception, it is just a shame to think like this, let alone voice it]. All of this was concluded by the requirements of a project that should not exist (found commercial alternatives in less than 5 minutes) and has been outsourced to students doing it in Android for $15k. And within 2 minutes I found out that they lied to me on the tech requirements. Again, I've been doing his for a long time, that's hard to pull one like this on me. Try a domain where I'm not knowledgeable at least. That's it. Not sure how it will turn out. I guess marketing may have the last word, as 90% of students required an iPad, 10% a Galaxy, and 2 (just 2, not %) a RIM tablet.