Answer My Query

One more day to go for Adobe Flash Platform Summit 2010, I am very excited about this event because of so many good sessions and speakers.

More importantly, an opportunity for me to reconnect with everyone. Flash Platform community in India has grown many folds during last couple of years, so it would be fun to see new developers/designers.

This is going to be first event I would be attending after mid 2008. I have been busy doing very different things (bootstraping team, hiring, strategy, setting up processes, etc.), hence don't have much to share about Flash Platform related things. I have done bunch of small actionscript/flex projects, where as my team has been busy building some cool stuff using web-standards and lamp-stack.

If you are going to be around, let's catch up.

Google announced that it would stop selling the Nexus One directly, then revealed that it would continue to make the device available as a dev phone for people interested in building Android apps. It was a smart move, as the Nexus One is the only next generation device running stock Android, and still a favorite among many Android fans.

It seems the move was a little too smart since Google has already run out of supply for the Nexus One. Developer advocate Tim Bray has revealed that Google “blew through the (substantial initial inventory in almost no time, and they’re back-ordered from HTC.”

This makes me wonder just how many people are actively developing for Android. Back at Google I/O in May, Google claimed there were 180,000 registered developers working on 50,000 apps. Android device sales have more than doubled since then and the total number of apps increased by 50 percent. That number must have climbed by now.

Plus it wouldn’t surprise me if a few latecomer consumers registered as developers just so they could purchase a Nexus One. Nah, you guys wouldn’t do something that dishonest, would you?

[Google]

I’ve been monitoring my Gmail accounts hoping that one of them would receive an invitation to Google App Inventor. Nothing has come my way so far, but I’m happy to report that a few of you are faring better than I am.

Androinica reader Benjamin just sent us over a tip alerting us that more invites are going out. Ben requested an invite the day that App Inventor was announced, but he didn’t make it into the first wave of invites.

A couple other followers have let us know that they too have been blessed by the App Inventor Invite Fairy, so maybe you ought to check your inbox to see if she left anything for you. Just a word to the wise, be sure to also check your spam folder. Tomas alerted us a few days back that the App Inventor email message went straight there even though it’s from Google.

To search the spam folder, enter “inventor in:spam” in the search field.

You can also do “inventor in:trash” if you might have accidentally deleted it.

The Android Market has things it’s not supposed to have. There are sex apps, work that violates the intellectual property of dozens of right holders, and apps that are technically illegal. Sadly, it also includes material that’s offensive.

That became clear last Friday when analyst Michael Gartenerg commented that there are pro-Nazi themes in the Android Market. The offending items were soon removed, sparking debates about free speech and the validity of having a pre-screening process like Apple.

Android Developer Advocate Tim Bray addressed both concerns in a post on his personal blog, saying this incident is a prime example of why Android’s current market conditions work. Bray points out that the offensive material was removed after a takedown request was filed, showing that

“Anyone can publish anything, but there’s a smooth well-oiled process for ripping the weeds out of the garden, once they get noticed.”

I’d actually disagree with Bray on that point. While he’s right to state the model of the Market does work, the execution of it definitely does not. I have personally flagged apps that have remained in the Market, and a search of the market is likely to reveal apps or themes that violate the market’s terms of service or trademarks. There is a process to have these apps removed, but I wouldn’t clarify it as “well-oiled.”

As for the issues of free speech, I agree with Bray that “[The Android Market] is not a public commons, it’s a store.”

Google is no more responsible for carrying Nazi propaganda than Macy’s is for carrying Osama bin Laden t-shirts. Companies have a right to determine what items it houses and what it removes. Anyone who wants something that violates Google’s terms of service can download the app from its source and install the APK (provided they aren’t on AT&T). While the Android Market system is certainly flawed, draconian pre-screening found in other platforms is not the answer.

I’d rather not get into the deep philosophical issues of free speech in anarchy or constrained speech in a walled garden, but Bray is right about Android not being a public arena. Free speech is not absolute, especially when discussing a private entity’s right to express its beliefs by not letting offensive material associate with its name or products.