A new SDK called RubyMotion lets you develop iOS apps in Ruby. I bet there are a lot of people who will be excited about it, but I can’t imagine many iOS developers think it’s a good idea. Why would you put another layer between you and Apple’s APIs? How do you know the Ruby layer will stay up to date? To me, writing iOS apps in Ruby makes about as much sense as writing web apps in Objective-C. Want to write in Ruby? Build a web app.
May 2012
NYT on Kindles at Target
The New York Times sheds some more light on Target’s decision to stop selling Kindles. Sounds like it’s not really about books at all, but about Amazon encouraging users to check prices in stores and then buy through Amazon instead.
Target stops selling the Kindle
Target announced that it will stop selling Kindles and other Amazon-branded products, but will continue selling Barnes and Noble’s Nook. Admittedly, Amazon doesn’t help brick-and-mortar retailers out too much by undercutting them on price, but I’m still surprised by Target’s move here. If someone wants to buy a Kindle in a store, shouldn’t Target be willing to take their money? I can’t imagine Target does a big business selling paper books, so what’s the harm?
An elephant playing the harmonica
This is incredible. Elephants are so much fun!