Boy, 16 Sector is drawing this thing out longer than I’d hoped. They’ve got something up their sleeve for the few Apple II enthusiasts around us.

Yes, a new piece of Apple II hardware will be coming our way very shortly. The cat’s almost out of the bag! The good ol’ days of the Apple //e and Apple IIgs are what really make me nostalgic. I even purchased an Apple IIgs recently on eBay and I’m just saving it in the box with plans to break it out when I get around to finishing my new attic office space.

For clues on the odd antics of the 16 Sector site, check the commentary at A2Central.com in their post, “More 16 Sector riddles“.

p.s. A big “hear! hear!” goes out for that post in regard to the return of the great Carrington Vanston of 1MHz fame!

So, with Apple preparing to hold an iPhone Software Roadmap event this Thursday, people are eagerly anticipating news about how Apple will handle an SDK for the iPhone environment.

Many developers were frustrated–and many web developers had our curiosities pleasantly piqued–when Apple initially announced that “software” would be available for the iPhone in the form of Ajax web applications. Naturally, many of the disappointed folks were irritated because the web platform is something that they’re entirely unfamiliar with, probably having backgrounds in Objective C or something similar; probably a minority were disappointed because their target application legitimately could not be powered by HTML and Ajax.

That said, it is indeed a very thought-provoking concept: Using web technology as your application environment. As most web developers will attest to, there honestly isn’t that much that a typical application does that cannot be accomplished with web technology. With the advent of Ajax frameworks, applications built with web technology can have very similar responsiveness and dynamics of a “classic” application. Especially when you remove the burden of cross-browser compatibility, in the iPhone’s case.

But with the iPhone/iPod Touch scenario, it is irritating that the application has to reside in Safari and has to be loaded off the web. It almost feels as if Apple was trying to push something that wasn’t…quite…ready. Something like AIR!

AIR accomplishes everything that Apple was suggesting for the iPhone environment, but for the desktop. Use web technology, but write a “compiled”, stand-alone application that really doesn’t even have to use the web. Use HTML. Use Ajax. Use Flex and Flash. Have a nice encapsulated application on your desktop. Especially when you throw the Flash technology into the platform, it is now a very capable environment for a large variety of applications, without being constrained to the browser. Wouldn’t it be great if that same cross-platform environment, AIR, worked on the iPhone as well?

Oops, Flash technology isn’t currently supported by the iPhone. That is actually another source of contention. And the AIR environment does lose some of its punch without Flash and Flex, even though its HTML/Ajax implementation can do a very decent job with most typical applications.

Steve Jobs has made it clear that he likes the idea of web technology powering iPhone apps. Now, consider some of the facts. Apple announces the iPhone SDK will be released in February, and then fails to deliver. Meanwhile, Flash still isn’t found on the iPhone, and Adobe “invents the wheel” by getting web technology to drive native apps through its work with AIR. Is there a common theme with these events? Perhaps something like: Are Apple and Adobe working together to get the much-needed Flash technology onto the iPhone and, subsequently, releasing an SDK that uses AIR technology, with hooks into the iPhone system just like AIR currently has hooks into the Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X desktop operating systems?

It wouldn’t be the first time Apple has had to wait for its partners, or take the heat for them. For instance, Apple has clearly been taking a lot of heat for many factors of the iPhone that are clearly not in Apple’s interest, but in AT&T’s.

And this scenario would fit the circumstances around Adobe’s development of AIR. Adobe has been working on AIR since well before the iPhone was released, but AIR wasn’t officially released until February 25, 2008. Even if Apple and Adobe were working closely together, there just hasn’t been enough time for AIR to get released and hooks to be developed to provide iPhone-specific functionality in AIR. Adobe has understandably concerned itself with its own business first. With that done, attention can turn to Apple to support them in concluding their own business.

Of course, this prediction is a reflection of my own desires as much as it fits the circumstances. As a developer that uses Adobe technology including Flex and AIR, and an Apple enthusiast for more than 20 years, I would love to see things happen this way. Undoubtedly we will have a clearer idea of Apple’s iPhone development roadmap after this Thursday.

As if the thought of an “iPhone AIR” isn’t confusing enough.

When I went into the Woodfield Apple Store to check out the iPod Touch, I was sad to hear that they were sold out.

“Just a second, let me double-check that we haven’t received another shipment,” says the Apple salesman. “It looks like we have one 16GB model left. Are you interested?”

“Give it to me!”

Sold. Woohoo!

As the froth and fervor surrounding the iPhone continues, it is no surprise that we see some people making some poor decisions. For instance, we have the lady who spends $800 for the front spot in line because she thought she was going to buy out the whole store, clearly ignorant of the one-per-customer rule at AT&T stores. That’s just incredibly embarrassing and foolish, which is different than what I’m going to talk about next.

Alex King is someone I respect and occasionally read, and he recently canceled his iPhone plan in line with TUAW’s instructions so that he could use his iPhone as the world’s coolest widescreen iPod and internet device–apparently the syncing and WiFi capability continue to function just fine with the phone components disabled.

My first reaction was how awesome that was. And more power to Alex for having the gumption to try it and for buying himself the coolest iPod ever. In the end, though, you’re paying $599 + $49 for first month of service = $650 minimum for an 8GB video iPod. The cool factor may be here now, even if the high price tag doesn’t deter you, but it may feel a bit more foolish when the heat and excitement of the iPhone cools and Apple brilliantly times the release of a 60GB widescreen multitouch iPod 3 months out from now, for a comparable $400-$600 price range because it lacks the complexity, price and hassle of the phone components. The price, the timeframe, the mere existence of said iPod are all pure fabrications to indulge my point (although “sources” do claim these things). It could happen. And it would make business sense.
Yes, there may be some phoneless iPhone owners grumbling in October.