Saturday, February 23, 2013

ShareKit : Share Feature for iOS Apps

ShareKit : Drop-in Share Features for all iOS Apps


iOS supports convenient "Share" button,
that is available in pre-installed apps, such as Safari,
but can also be added to other iPhone and iPad Apps.

This may even work from PhoneGap

Windows 8 / RT apps support similar concept of "Share Contracts" between apps,
available on slide-in menu from right side of the screen (circle with 3 dots that look like arrows).

The idea is that each app should do one thing (very, very well),
and use services from other apps for everything else:
i.e. sending email, or sending note to Facebook or Twitter, or file to DropBox etc.


As usual, the "devil is in the details", so while this is not too hard to implement
(once you figure it out), it depends on platform, other installed apps, security etc...

Many years ago Microsoft implemented COM for very similar purpose,
and that is quite complex, but works quite well, so much so that WinRT is also based on COM...

What is needed is "platform independent" extensive structured communication
that is not complex and brittle as SOAP XML web services,
but is more "structured" than plain JSON REST HTTP,
managed by local OS when on local machine,
and by online service "broker" for messaging between devices...

"Smart" share for "Smart" devices :)

Volkswagen XL1: 261 mpg !

Volkswagen XL1 will be world mpg champ

"True to being futuristic, it's a two-seat, plug-in hybrid that can run 32 miles on electricity alone before its diesel engine kicks in. But even with that engine, it's hyper-efficient: VW boasts that it needs only 8.3 horsepower to cruise at 62 miles an hour.

Makes sense given that the engine has only two cylinders and puts out only 47 horsepower. The electric motor is good for another 27 horsepower.

"The 261-mpg fuel consumption figure is a record that has not been achieved by any other vehicle to date, showing that Volkswagen is redefining what is technically feasible in the automotive industry," the automaker says. XL1 also has a top speed of 99 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 12.7 seconds, according to VW."


It is unclear if VW will bring new super-efficient car to USA.
Maybe because the price of fuel may not be a big issue in coming years here :)
All thanks to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling same technique used for shale gas,
and now for oil, with apparently huge unconventional reserves found...

U.S. Oil Output to Overtake Saudi Arabia’s by 2020 @ Blumberg.com

iPhone 5 prices of components

How could Apple make a cheap iPhone Mini? | ZDNet

+16 GB: $10 component price, $100 sales price increase
+48 GB: $30 component price, $200 sales price increase

It is no surprise competition for such market is strong...
But it is hard to make a better product

BlackBerry Z10 vs. Apple iPhone 5 (iPhone wins, but Z10 is at least comparable)