Archive 21. February 2010

bpython interpreter - definitely try this out at the company, at home this alternative Python shell made a really good impression. In some points better than ipython and that is already very good (but in my opinion too focused on its own features and away from the Python philosophy, while bpython seems more pythonic)

DreamPie: The Python shell you've always dreamed about! - another interesting alternative Python shell, this one as a GTK window. This opens up completely new possibilities, such as real popups as small graphical windows and direct graphical output. However, py-gtk for OS X is still rather shaky (like all GTK stuff currently, it's still alpha) and actually I prefer similar environments under OS X and Linux.

The New App Store Rules: No Swimsuits, No Skin, And No Innuendo - not that I need bikini models in apps, but one should keep an eye on what Apple is doing in terms of censorship. Yes, in this case, clear censorship, because in the iPhone app market, Apple is the central controller and massively uses this central function. And that means for users of these devices that they live in puritanical America, at least with their available apps. It's probably time to get more intensively involved with jailbreaking. And perhaps at the next contract renewal, not to go for the iPhone again, but to get something else, even if the alternatives look worse and have a significantly worse usability. With Apple's current efforts, I don't want to find out at some point that not only my apps are censored (where even "offensive words" in dictionaries have caused trouble - and one of my current main applications are Russian dictionaries), but also Safari might start censoring my surfing behavior. The Google phones are not an alternative, as their operator is a professional data octopus and is also based in the USA. Nokia may be economically bad since Bochum, but it now has the most open mobile platform with the N900.