Over on Daring Fireball and The Loop, Google is (rightfully) called out for taking development shortcuts, leading to further fragmentation, and failing to release Android Honeycomb source code to the community. Given their respective focus, the authors tie it all back to Cupertino:
Can you imagine if it were Apple delaying a software release.
Well, there’s something that has been bothering me for awhile. Facetime. It’s a pretty killer video communication solution primarily because, in typical Apple fashion, it’s dead simple to use. But, more importantly, it’s integrated into every current iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch — meaning there’s a huge installed base of potential users. However, Facetime communication is currently limited to Apple’s ecosystem. And that’s not something I’d normally have any problem with. Yet Steve Jobs announced Facetime as an eventual “open industry standard” – implying other services on other platforms would ultimately be able to utilize the Facetime protocol. About ten months after launch, there’s been no further public communication or movement on the interoperability front.
While my wife and I are iPhone 4 owners, many of our friends, family, and colleagues are on alternate platforms… and we’d like to simply Facetime with them via their Skype, QIK, or Yahoo Messenger apps.