Google Broke the Internet with Gmail Changes

Google changed image handling in gmail for privacy reasons, blah blah blah. In so doing, they are:
1. modifying user content (html)*
2. storing content (not metadata) beyond the scope of email clients

In a nutshell, they give recipients 2 options A) show images immediately, B) ask before showing images. In both cases, images are fetched from source and stored on google servers. What the recipient sees is a modified version of the message where the IMG urls are replaced to point to google servers.

The bottom line is that Google broke the Internet (since we're talking about gmail web client.) The Internet grows everyday with new patterns building on simple foundations like IMG tag referencing a URL. Modern browsers, including Google's Chrome now accept IMG urls that point to svg files. That's progress. Gmail breaks svg (in img) and who knows what else. That's narrow-mindedness or just unclear on a concept.

http://www.wired.com/2013/12/turn-gmail-auto-image-loading-off/
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/20903967/gmails-new-image-caching-is-breaking-image-links-in-newsletter/25069148#25069148
http://lifehacker.com/disable-automatic-image-loading-in-gmail-to-save-data-a-1482522063

*authenticity issue will be discussed in another post

SVG/TS Project Going Well

Successful POC for all use cases.

- Persistent svg on demand

- Addmore behavior

- Format conversions

- Green screen effects

- Script integration

- Save to android

Weakness

- Reliance on mime-type

- Embedded svg cannot switch date-dependent data

3 key aspects of tech development

1. perceived quality
2. user expectations (real and hype)
3. execution and quality
The market leaders excel at #1 and 2 but avoid wasting time and money on #3. That's the proven formula for success.

Pseudo local apps and Puffin

A colleague uses the Puffin browser on his android because it supports web games otherwise un-runnable. (I thought about using it for google voice since google blocks certain features when mobile is detected and proceeds assuming the mobile has an active phone carrier, which none of my 6 mobile devices does. Btw, why is browser app not compatible with iTouch as stated in app store.)

I looked into Puffin further. It really stretches the boundary of a native app, not in a good way. To support local features (like handling a file type), it outsources the processing to a server. So they will enable/disable local browsers features at their whim (like during the Olympics), which violates several paragraphs in Apples app guidelines (which is a sham anyway). Also, your local browser could be down when their servers go down. Quite a paradigm shift for "local" app. I would say Puffin is a SAAS browser, but its a clever response to the arbitrary restrictions on mobile devices. Industry leaders should like this trend because SW can turn in subscription revenue streams. On the other hand, gatekeepers (like app store) want their protection money revenue stream for subscription-based apps as stated in iphone dev agreement.

I think everyone should put their mobile on airplane mode once in a while and see which of their apps behave like local apps.

Network Drives For Generic Use

Which network drive is best that meets these criteria?
- No cloud/internet connection, local wifi only
- No host computer, just a host wireless router (if needed)
- Preferably no client software requirement on androids and iOS
- Preferable writeable via wifi

No manufacturer documentation addresses (reveals) these details, so user comments are the most reliable. If you've spent the dough, let me know which device does or does not meet any of these criteria.

Here are some review comments for a Kingston wi-drive.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=network+drive&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=4710560936236043438&os=reviews

Serious Android bug

Some Android phone are getting false "Memory Full" errors that are blocking contact additions, emails, texts, etc. This occurs on multiple hardware models and carriers and are sprinkled over various forums. Whether this is a configuration issue or a cellular integration issue, such a fundamental functionality should not be left up to implementations. But that's the fundamental difference between Apple-dictated iOS/iPhone vs cooperation needed between Android OS and various players.

Bonjour

Not too many iPhone apps take advantage of Apple's Bonjour local network discovery protocol. VLC streamer does a nice job of showcasing the possibilities with Bonjour. Paired with a streamer helper, it makes the iPhone/iTouch pretty powerful in accessing contents on a PC or laptop. I tried it with an MBP which sets up an ah-hoc wifi a million times easier than any winbox and seeing the mpb contents listed on the iTouch was pretty cool. Doing video streaming is a tall order, so that part of the app is not ready for prime time. But it won't be long.