> Apple also said that developers have created more than 11,000 new applications for the iPad that take advantage of its multitouch user interface, large screen and high-quality graphics. In addition, it will run almost all of the more than 225,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for an iPhone or iPod touch. Think about this: Sometime later this year, there will likely be more iPad SPECIFIC apps on the App Store than total apps for all Android devices.

> A top House Democrat said Tuesday that tax increases will eventually be necessary to address the nation’s mounting debt, raising a difficult election-year issue as Democrats fight retain control of Congress. > > In the near term, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer raised the possibility that Congress will only temporarily extend middle-class tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year. He pointedly suggested that making them permanent would be too costly. There’s no such thing as a “permanent” tax cut. The tax code is altered constantly. You can set up a tax cut that doesn’t have an expiration date, which is what Obama is suggesting, but that doesn’t make it “permanent.” Congress can go in at any time and re-raise whatever they want.

Politically, members of congress never want to be seen as “raising” taxes. But letting cuts expire vs. voting to raise them? There’s no difference, really. The attack add says you “raised taxes” either way. So I don’t see what the argument is here.

Calling cuts “permanent” sounds better to the American people, who desperately need a little good news right now economically. So why not just do that and move on? We’ll raise taxes when the time comes, once our economy is back on track and people can afford higher taxes. No need to remind us of that now.

Finally, some numbers to back up my theories. With 90% of iOS developers not writing for other platforms, I’d say that all this flak Apple gets about developer dissatisfaction is completely overblown. Developers are clearly not looking into alternatives.

Like I’ve said before, the opportunity to make money is all with Apple. As long as that remains true, Apple is not going to have a problem.

> Adobe hasn’t given any signs that it’s close to porting Flash to webOS, Palm said in an AT&T online app development seminar on Thursday. When asked about the multiple delays, a representative said that Palm didn’t ‘know what the hold-up is’ with getting it ready. Adobe itself hasn’t commented on the state of the webOS version or of other platforms. > > The absence of updates on the status of Flash for webOS casts some doubt on Adobe’s plans. Officially, devices from all platforms should have mobile Flash 10.1 in the second half of the year, but so far the strongest sign of development has been a beta for Android 2.2 that, due to its nature, can only run on the Nexus One. Adobe is slated to speak at Verizon’s Droid X introduction and may have a finished version of Flash 10.1 ready for the event, but it’s unlikely other platforms will get attention.

via electronista.com

> A German student “mooned” a group of Hell’s Angels and hurled a puppy at them before escaping on a stolen bulldozer, police have said. If that’s not the best opening line to any news story I’ve read in the past ten years, I don’t know what is. How could you possibly improve on that image?