Via the WMLProgramming mailing list, see this bug report, and listen to the sound of an assumption creaking gently in the wind.

For quite some time now, folks in the mobile industry have been using the User-Agent HTTP header to identify devices, look up capabilities (using a device database like the WURFL), and deliver appropriate versions of content. Industry initiatives like transcoding which threaten the ability to do this have been met with a variety of flavours of opposition... but it looks like there's a new threat to this practice:

"The different User-Agents are an expected outcome of how Android works. Different parts of the Android system handle different actions.

The browser renders the various mark-up languages, but it will hand off to other applications to handle various file types. In the case of the video player, it uses the OpenCORE framework as you indicated to play video files where the source is HTTP."

Despite the problems such an approach might cause, it isn't actually wrong, either. RFC1945 defines a user agent as:

The client which initiates a request. These are often browsers, editors, spiders (web-traversing robots), or other end user tools.

So what happens now? Do we start expanding device databases to include not only browser user agents, but also those of individual applications on individual platforms - even presuming that we can distinguish different devices by the apps that run on them? Or do we use some other mechanism to determine device capabilities?

• Something about Teletext selling 300,000 iPhone apps makes me feel warm inside.
• The iPhone App Store ranking algorithm has been reverse-engineered: "The formula is 8 times the sales of the current day + 5 times the sales on the 2 proceeding days + 2 times the sales on initial date."
• Amazing article on alternatives to acceptance testing: "think of defects as coming from four sources: programmer errors, design errors, requirements errors, and systemic errors. When trying to eliminate defects, I look for practices that address these four causes."
• The Android Marketplace has its first public success story; one swallow doesn't make a summer of course, but I'd put money on this being the start of a something big. Err in fact technically I think I *have* put money on that.
• Stop delegating. I lean this way myself. I'm not sure it's as black-and-white as this article suggests and I don't think I get the balance right, but I liked the general thrust of it.
• Interface innovation from Microsoft; I was surprised at how gorgeous I found this booklet-style table. It's nice to think that there's room for new form factors. I should've learned that from the DS...
• Why big businesses launch apps, and how they can fit into a business strategy: "Natasha Lomas profiles a number of iPhone apps launched by businesses and talks to some of the execs involved to learn more about what they have done, and how it has worked for them"
• Fantastic voiceover work on this Nokia article covering conceptual design. Feels like watching a 70s childrens TV programme :)
• Werner Vogels of Amazon on working backwards: "Once we have gone through the process of creating the press release, faq, mockups, and user manuals, it is amazing how much clearer it is what you are planning to build"

So, Apple vs Google in the courts, with HTC as the first manufacturer to be Made An Example Of. I think The Register has it spot on here:

"The case will take years to resolve, but that's no bad thing for Apple: manufacturers are going to be hesitant to create Android handsets when an Apple victory could put them out of business, a long drawn-out case could threaten the future of Android just as much as an Apple victory."

This isn't a money-making gesture, it's hitting Google precisely where it hurts most: by discouraging other handset vendors to adopt Android at all.

We're recruiting, for a dual ScrumMaster/Office Manager role: someone to focus full-time on identifying and fixing issues, and on improving the efficiency of everyone here at FP.

The right person for the job will be smart, unintimidated by technology, calm under fire, and interested in learning. They might have experience in Scrum, but that's not essential as long as they have a clear enthusiasm and willingness to learn; we'll provide a lot of support during the early stages (we have certified staff in-house and have been running Scrum ourselves for more than 2 years), and training too.

The job description is short but broad:

ScrumMaster/Office Manager
Position reports to: Technical Director
Overview: Owns and organises the production process and office environment

Key Responsibilities:

• Facilitating daily standups for our two production teams
• Identifying and resolving impediments to progress of the teams
• Working with the Product Owners to create long-term release plans for the business
• Facilitating fortnightly sprint demos, retrospectives and planning sessions
• Administrative support to the management team

Scope:

• Predominately an internally facing role, with the exception of fortnightly demos and planning sessions

Training:

• Will be supported through Certified Scrum Master and Certified Scrum Practitioner qualifications

Email recruitment@futureplatforms.com with a CV if you're interested.

• The app developers guide to choosing a mobile platform: "Choosing among the competing platforms requires a clear-eyed assessment of the audience for your app, the technical strengths (and weaknesses) of the platform, how easy it is to monetize your work and the long-term health of the platform"
• Design and designed failures, a lovely presentation from Nicolas Nova;
• Mobile Application Stores: the state of play, from Distimo. Well-presented analysis of available applications in stores, though I'm not 100% sure that you can draw lessons about audience behaviour or preferences from the quantities, categories and pricing of available applications. That said, for many of us this sort of data is the best we have to work with...
• It's nice to see Google acknowledging that mobile comes first, and hear them use the word "humongous". I loved his phrasing of it too: "your phone is your alter ego, an extension of everything we do". If Mark Curtis doesn't hurry up and beat me to it, I've a post in waiting along these lines...
• I'm hearing lots of publishers echo these thoughts from Alan Rusbringer on the iPad and getting enthusiastic. The cynic in me (probably the bigger part) wonders whether the familiar size of an iPad screen is attractive, and that by seeming so similar to large-format print these folks with be persuaded to join an ecosystem that will be anything but familiar.
• Intel and Nokia are merging their netbook OSs, though as someone I chatted to earlier pointed out, this looks to be a worst-of-both-worlds - dropping the gorgeous Clutter UI toolkit which sits at the heart of Moblin, and choosing RPM packaging over Debian. I'm guessing that the amount of effort not put into the combined project will more than compensate...
• Everything is different now Windows Phone 7 has been announced, though we're unlikely to see real devices for a year. I heard nice things from folks who'd played with prototypes at MWC, but I'd like to understand more about the business model for this - how much will Microsoft sell it for, and will the cost (and complexity of engaging them in a commercial relationship of any sort) over Android, Meego, or Symbian be worthwhile for handset vendors? An engaging well-designed homescreen doth not a winning smartphone OS make, and MS have a lot of ground to make up, with mobile contributing little to their overall revenues. Also: what happened to "developers, developers, developers"?
• Facebook Zero has been announced; really interesting, as one of the worlds most popular sites simultaneously tries to minimise its bandwidth impact for operators and extends its reach well beyond smartphone owners. Interesting that carriers have to sign up to get this too, a little shift in the power-balance there. I wonder what Facebook are getting in return for helping the operators like this?
• Happy Birthday, BBS! /me sniffs and waves at bigfug, Henry and Big Sal...