Incremental Blogger

TechCrunch is reporting that Google is looking into acquiring Digg. I have no idea one way or another, but I can imagine that Google is considering the possibilities. It has to, as do all companies.

However, I hope Google doesn’t fall into the Digg trap. Here’s why: The raucous nature of its commenters. Sorry folks, but Digg has fostered a community of commenters that’s just wrong. Let someone else play in the mud, but my recommendation is for Google to stay above and out of it.

Now, I realize things can be tamed. Microsoft has done a pretty good job with Hotmail. It’s nothing like it initially was back in the early days. Anyone doing ecommerce back when Hotmail started knows what I’m talking about.

My concern here is that Google is already playing on the edge with commenters on YouTube. It’s getting pretty trashy there. So adding Digg might not be too much of big deal to them. But it would be to me. And I think it will eventually be to advertisers.

I’ll put it this way: Along with Google’s “do no evil” mantra, I think Google ought to add a “be responsible” clause too.

By the way, same advice to Microsoft. I don’t care how big it gets. It’s not worth it. Just because you can make a few bucks off of something doesn’t make it right. Let someone else pick it up as an edgy novelty. You don’t have to. There are so many more things you can focus on that can make our lives better. Put your energies there instead.

With the news that JKOnTheRun is joining GigaOM, James Kendrick takes a moment to reflect on this past year’s loss of a great fellow contributor and one of the most warm-hearted persons you’d ever meet, Marc Orchant. Reading through the comments on James’ post it looks like quite a few people have been thinking about Marc recently too. I’m included in that group.

I’ve thought about Marc quite a bit over the last several months. I’ve thought about the conversations we would have had about the latest iPhone or about using tech in new and interesting ways. I’ve thought about how he’d approach this or that particular situation. And most of all I’ve thought about the hug he gave me after I finished my first round of chemo and radiation. His pure enthusiasm and warm nature is sorely missed–in person and I think among the A-list. It’s not the same, particularly when the tussles are louder than the tech.

I miss you Marc.

The number of people predicting a forthcoming Apple Tablet keeps growing.

Dave Winer thinks we’ll see one soon too as the next generation of Apple systems make their way to market:

In the next round you’ll see one with two or three USB ports and a removable battery as well as a tablet version. Both will run the iPhone software at least as an option. The tablet might run it as its only option.

Dave also sees the Apple Air notebook as a harbinger of thin things to come. I think he’s correct on this. Wha t Apple has going for it in its designs is not just a little bit of metal or well placed plastic or fancy graphics. Apple’s key design wins have recently been its thinness. It scored well here with the iPhone in comparison to other Internet browsing devices. It scored well here with the Air and even the MacBook Pro for that matter.

If Apple can bring together thin mobile devices with relatively low cost, then Apple’s going to continue to take market share.

My prediction a year or so back was that we’d see 30% market share of Apple devices. Forget about the PC as a single system sitting on a desk. What it’s really about now is a combination of connected devices. Signs continue to look like it’s going to happen. I imagine in the next year or so we’ll see analysts talking not just about PC market share, but connected device market share. What will matter is if the device can get to the cloud. If so, it counts in the pile. And if Apple can bring together its OSes even more across its devices (phones, iPods, PCs), then Apple’s going to wind up with a significant market share even in the OS category compared to other “PC” manufacturers.

In this game, Microsoft may want to rethink its strategy of “hiding” the OS in its game consoles or Zunes or even consolidating better the notion of an OS in its phones and the OS in small notebooks. The lines are blurring. Fact is, 10 million here and a 100 million there of competing devices that belong to the same OS family and its going to raise some competitive feathers.

Now one could argue that the OS can be hidden just fine, particularly the smaller the device gets. However, as the iPhone has shown it’s still about the developer, developer, developer. Do you think we’d see the same amount of interest in the iPhone today without all the developer efforts–official or not–around the iPhone? Nope.

This is a test post from the new Wordpress app on the iPhone. The app is quite minimal and missing some obvious features, but one feature is great: It can post images taken with the iPhone to the blog. This is a photo I took last night at sunset.

I rediscovered SketchBook Pro yesterday. What a great drawing experience on a Tablet PC! Even if you’re as bad at drawing as I am, it’s a great app to try out. If nothing else, you can scribble, erase, scribble, erase without wasting any paper.

I used to own a license to SketchBook, but after switching machines, migrating to the latest OSes and the like it has been one of the many apps I’ve lost track of over the years. So it wasn’t until yesterday when I was showing Lan’s niece the Tablet PC and how you can draw with it, that I redownloaded Sketchbook from Autodesk. Point blank: It’s an awesome application. I’d forgotten how realisitic and natural the drawing experience is. Hands down it should be in every drawing class in the world.

Once upon a time Sketchbook was more prevalent in the Tablet world. It was one of the first really slick Tablet apps. But Tablet sales being Tablet sales eventually the company making it (Alias) sold to Autodesk.

In my mind Microsoft made a terrible, terrible mistake by not bringing this program in house. Tsk, tsk. Don Dodge, Dan’l Lewin, sorry, but this was one of your top missed opportunities to properly nurture the Tabletsphere. I’d put this right up there with Microsoft not bringing in Josh Einstein’s apps either. What a set of poor decisions. (Sorry to point out these two–I’ve never met either though I follow them online–because I know there’s more to it than this, but it’s something that’s so disappointed me about Microsoft’s approach to nurturing the Tablet market. Some decisions cost millions–possibly billions in total market over a handful of years–in lost opportunity. These are two of them.)

Now the program is locked behind an overly combersome sign up sheet on the Autodesk site. What a shame. Really, Microsoft should be giving away an introductory version of this app for free as well as integrating its capabilities into Vista and Silverlight.

I met one of the SketchBook developers awhile back at a conference–I think Siggraph. I was quite impressed with his approach to the app and drawing itself and I can guess why Microsoft didn’t go for it. Thing is, the program doesn’t really use Microsoft’s core ink API. Here’s the thing though, the ink support in Tablets is not where it should be. It needs to be augmented and SketchBook’s capablities would have been a good start.

If you ask me, the Tablet PC’s notion of ink is still circa 1996. Microsoft really needs to think more carefully about “What is ink?” It’s not just about ink for business handwriting. It’s about replacing the paper exerience and making it even better by leveraging the digital world. And it’s not just an OS issue. There’s this whole thing called the web too.

I can’t help but think of what could have been. Imagine a quality drawing experience like in SketchBook available in Vista, on the Mac, in Silverlight. Imagine, imagine, imagine. Yeah, you can purchase Sketchbook now for Windows and the Mac (though no web support), but this misses the point about how valuable nurturing a growing market can be.

MacDailyNews is reporting another Mac Tabletish rumor. Supposedly there might be something coming by October. Who knows. At some point we have to say “Deliver or Step Aside.” I’m leaning towards the latter.