It has been about 5 months since I created a Facebook account and was amazed by the user-friendliness and solid coding of the website, as well as the innovative API that allows for the development of applications by both Facebook and by third parties.

Well, many have seen in the news few months ago that MySpace has implemented a feed that shows you what your friends have done such as updating their profiles. This feature was taken pretty much completely from Facebook; as many may remember the controversy over this action feed sometime last year over concerns of stalking.

But in any case, MySpace has once again started its photocopiers. It, too, is creating an API for applications.

I remember last month seeing a box labeled “Apps” on the right hand side column on the “home page” you get after logging into MySpace. However, when clicking on “get apps” I was presented with the annoying “An unexpected error has occurred.” In any case, now, a beta of the MySpace Apps system is up and running and it is striking similar to that of Facebook’s. The mainly 3rd party applications, which includes Superpoke, are placed on one’s profile, similar in a manner to that of Facebook. Even more so, like Facebook, each application is represented by a little 16×16 icon. Moreover, when you add an application, you get a Facebook-esque AJAX modal window prompting you with a few check boxes about whether to allow the app to access your information.

While I commend MySpace for improving their services and transitioning the website into something truly Web 2.0 grade, it is startling the way they are going about doing this. The new features they have added are blatant ripoffs of innovations that Facebook created. If they are to create a truly excellent service, they themselves need to create something new and innovative. It is even more interesting at how similar the look and feel of the action feed and application systems are on MySpace when compared to the originals on Facebook. Unless there is some behind the scenes agreement between Facebook and MySpace currently regarding these services, I predict at one lawsuit battles quite soon.

It would seem that somebody who recently bought an iPhone would exclaim as if God appeared to him and granted him free passage to Heaven regardless of whatever else would happen in his life.

I originally would have felt this way if I hypothetically burned about $500 to get a hyped-up, nice-looking phone that cannot record video, cannot IM, and lacks many major features other smart-phones have. While I was, and still am, impressed with the visual appeal job Apple put into the iPhone, and into their other products, the features it lacks and the still-not-so-reasonable price relative to the features and quality, does not make the current iPhone worth it. Yes, it has multitouch; yes, it has an accelerometer; yes, it looks nicer than most other phones; yes, Steve Jobs said that it is the best thing in the world; however, I am not going to invest in it just yet. Feature-wise, it is utterly shadowed by phones such as the Nokia N95.

However, I do admit that the iPhone is revolutionary in the development of smart-phones with its multitouch technology and such. As time goes, cameras, phones, portable media players, and PC’s are converging. I will be getting a smart-phone next summer and if Apple can greatly improve the iPhone and make the price more reasonable, I might consider one.

~DC