Why the hype?

Super Bock, a portuguese beer brand launches a new search engine for movies and cinema sessions. And does it using Silverlight, probably “sold” to them as “the new, oh so cool technology for the web. Better than flash.”

According to Rich Internet Application Statistics, 30% of the browsers they analyze have Silverlight, which is oh so little when compared to the 98% of Flash.

There’s definitely an “asshole in charge” situation over here. Probably, nobody in the agency said “only 30% of the web will see this a-lot-of-thousand-euros-website you’re paying for” to the manager at Super Bock, so there’s our asshole. If they did, the asshole is obviously working at Super Bock.

That’s like selling their beer only to people born between January and April. Yes, that dumb. That’s just one of the problems with Web agencies forgetting about Strategy and doing just Development and Design; they forget about 70% of the people browsing the web.

That’s also the problem with companies that still don’t get the Web. For them, it is a playground where they can run a couple of experiences and choose to have a cool website, instead of a functional one that can reach to more clients.

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EDIT:
Some made me realize I was being too harsh with my third paragraph. Yes, I am. It isn’t intended to insult no one, it’s just one of the ways I have to explain my opinion.
If it is too hard to read, skip it or read this version instead:

Someone’s made a mistake here. If the guys over Super Bock specifically asked for a Silverlight website, probably they weren’t aware that they were preventing 70% of the users visiting the site. The mission of the agency is alerting the client about these problems and not only accepting the work and getting paid for it.

Again, sorry if someone felt insulted by my words.

So, the European Commission decided that the next version of Windows shouldn’t include Internet Explorer. Consumers should be able to choose a browser, they say.

I think it’s Mozilla’s turn to get a bigger user base in Europe. If, somehow, they manage to give people a way to install a browser by telling them “copy this text and paste it on the window that opens when you do Ctrl+R (or whatever the shortcut is)”. The problem is, how do you get to someone that’s not in the Internet yet.

That’s a good problem to solve, get on it Mozilla. Me, I’m to busy to think about it.

Oh, and please do read more about the issue here and here.

The last months of work at Webreakstuff were entirely dedicated to the second version of Goplan which we just launched yesterday.

Despite the stressful day, full of last things to complete before the great opening, the whole team is very happy with the result and I’m personally proud of our work.

Goplan isn’t really “done” and probably it won’t ever be. In the next weeks we’ll focus on fix small bugs that may arise with the mass use of the app. Along with this bug-fixing period, we’ll start working on the iPhone app for those who want to manage their projects on the road.

Give Goplan a spin (by signing up here) and send your feedback over. We love hearing from you guys.

We’re now a couple of days away from the next Portuguese BarCamp. It’ll be held at DEI (the Computer Science Dept.) in Coimbra.

You can find more information about the event at BarCamp PT’s home at http://barcamppt.org/.

If you’re portuguese or happen to be in Coimbra the next weekend, do drop by, but don’t forget to sign up.

Btw, you may have noticed whythehype.com down — I just changed the hosting provider, everything should be back to normal now.

I just read Dan Moren’s (Macworld.com) article on Apple’s iPhone Push Notifications system and how Apple seem to stopped talking about it. I guess thousands of developers are waiting for a solution, but push notifications may just not be it. I mean, that would be something, but it won’t solve all the limitations an application has by being allowed to run only on foreground.

The iPhone is a great platform and it surely means, above all, Cocoa in your pocket. Although, there’s a lot on the background that Cocoa apps are missing.

I hope Apple didn’t bury this feature. Push, over-the-air, notifications can be useful and I can surely see where they can be put into use. Still, I guess everyone wants more: sending an application to background while the user checks his email or text someone—and keep downloading something on your app, for instance.