Tag Archives: Apple
SD#43 Facebook Assassins
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And shoot them.
The world has decided that all the news should all happen at once . . . and it chose this week. Hackers are back in action, you need to drive “hands free”, and BitTorrent will save our entertainment! Ten points to the first person to identify that background noise!
The Circle Is Complete
I normally don’t post on a Saturday (SMV’s are scheduled in advance), but I saw this over at Joy of Tech and thought it’d be fun to share!
Courtesy of Joy of Tech
SD#1 The Saga Begins
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It’s here! Our very first podcast is up! After being around for over three years, we have decided to branch out to new media. We’re still learning, so please give us some feedback!
Hosts:
Zuke, Stark, Zohner, & Schmidty
Topics:
Amazon puts its head in the clouds and it’s finger in the faces of Sony & Apple
iOS might be dropping June 5th . . . without an iPhone?
Intel makes the biggest smallest drives you’ve ever seen!
Google now allows you to spy on tourists as well.
Windows 8 has a wishlist now. Take that Apple!
Kevin Costner is in the new Superman . . . and he’s Middle Eastern?
Viggo Mortensen was dating Snow White, I guess. He’s not anymore. But he’s not Zod!
Wonder Woman from Blue Boutique. Wonder Woman from J-Crew.
Should Netflix save cancelled/endangered shows?
Mass Effect 2 DLC came out. And now I’ve beaten it. Did Bioware just charge ME money to change the end of THEIR game?
Farmville is an example of a mental disorder.
Volkswagon has made a car from a video game!
Zuke’s Favorite: Three Angry Birds
Schmidty’s Favorite: Google’s +1
Stark’s Favorite: Today is a good day to sing!
Zohner’s Favorite: Pimp your router. Aww yeeeeaaa.
Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts
Google Voice is in the app store! Again.
Google voice is a great service. One that Apple has said conflicts with services already offered by At&t and Apple themselves. The last Google Voice app was GVMobile and somehow managed to get into the App Store before getting pulled in record time.
After that, the only way you were able to access the service was through a website or by jailbreaking your phone. Well, no more!
Today, GVConnect was approved for the App Store. While it’s not free like GVMobile was (this one is $3), it’s a well built app that finally gives people full access to their Google number. Be sure to grab it before they decide to pull it again!
New iPhone 4.1 in September?
By now I would expect that most everyone has heard of the antenna issues surrounding the iPhone 4; holding the phone in a normal manner results in your cellular signal going down dramatically. I’m not about to go over all the details again here, as it’s already been covered extensively everywhere else. I will, however, point out an interesting theory my brother-in-law told me.
If you go to Apple’s website that covers the details of getting your free bumper case or refund, you might notice that this special offer has an expiration date.
Now speaking from a business standpoint, the only reason why you’d stop offering the only thing that’s keeping your device working is because your are about to release a device that doesn’t need it anymore. Couple that idea with the knowledge that Apple has been hiring antennae specialists like crazy since “antennae-gate” hit the media and it makes you wonder if Cupertino has been working on getting a new hardware revision out to the masses.
The September 30th date would also coincide nicely with Apple’s September 1st “special event” coming up soon!
How iPad Will Change The World
Apple announced their iPad yesterday, a tablet-sized version of the iPhone. Other than the unfortunate name, it is an amazing little device. Considering how quickly we all got over the Nintendo Revolution becoming the “Wii”, I think we’ll forgive Apple soon enough.
If you remember my post Friday, I laid out some of the ways Apple could screw up such a product. I’d like to visit some of those points again and compare how they did.
- I mentioned I was worried they’d try and use parts from the MacBook Air (system board, screen, chassis, battery). Thankfully they didn’t even try. The battery life is supposed to be able to play video for up to 10 hours, and standby is rated to last a month. To be sure, the thing was probably in airplane mode (with all radios turned off) and screen brightness was way down, but it’s still better than the 4 hours I get on my laptop.
- I mentioned the pitfalls Microsoft fell into when moving Windows to the tablet. Apple instead kept the iPhone UI much intact and added some extras here and there.
- I mentioned Apple’s DRM paranoia and inability to allow us to save. With the different paintbrush apps and iWork on the thing, you will certainly be able to save.
I’d like to get into some of the other points, but before I do I want to address some of the utter hate that’s already been spewed around the web about the thing. A lot of it seems to be coming from PC users who are convinced that the iPad is just a bucket of failure. The number one complaint is “Why not just buy a netbook with a full fledged OS, larger drive, and a webcam!”.
Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat; the netbook concept is crap. If you have one it’s because:
- Your grandkids thought you’d like it, but weren’t sure enough to buy you a full computer.
- You got one for dirt cheap as a deal when you bought a full computer.
- You’re 14 years old. Your parents got tired of you whining for a full computer and thought one of these fangled things would be perfect for back to school. You use it to browse MySpace, Facebook, video chat with girls (with your shirt off), and post how much you hate the iPad on Gizmodo.
For the record, I fall into category #2. I have a Dell Mini9 in my office, and it’s just about worthless.
Remember how I described the problem with really thin laptops? Trying to fit a full computer into such a small package only gets you a really underpowered, overheated toy. The solution is simple; don’t make it a full computer!
The iPad is NOT a computer replacement. It’s a personal computing device. It’s that simple. It’s meant to compliment your main desktop computer. If you can only afford one machine, then by all means get a full computer. But if that’s the case, you sure shouldn’t be getting a netbook either. Get an actual computer!
COULD the iPad use a camera? Maybe. But the honest fact is that no one is really sure exactly how people are planning to really use the thing yet. It’s very likely that a camera will come about in the next generation (once again making the early adopters rather angry).
I’ve already done a bulleted AND numbered list this post, but I sort of have to do one more. I shall now present you with a list of just HOW this thing will change everything about personal computing.
- It’s fast. Sure, 1Ghz doesn’t sound very fast this day in age but let us remember that the iPhone 3Gs runs perfectly fine with it’s 550Mhz CPU and it’s the same OS. This translates into a very snappy experience in programs. Plus, let us not not forget the lessons learned from the Core2Duo; just because it runs slower doesn’t mean it’s not running BETTER.
- It’s a touchscreen! That sounds a little silly, but it’s totally true. If you’ve never used a touchscreen phone, it’s hard to explain just why this is so important. Even now, I’m writing this on a Windows 7 tablet. Using a touchscreen (even in Windows) is just so much faster and intuitive that you never want to go back. Working on any other laptop now is frustrating. Being limited to a touchpad or pointer stick just seems so slow and antiquated.
- Its capabilities are unlimited. Sure, in terms of hardware it has limits. But what you can use the thing for are limited only by what programmers are doing for it. Want it to be an E-Reader? Download the app for it. Want it to be a diagnostic system for your car? Download an app (and maybe buy an adapter). A cookbook? EVERY cookbook? People who have never been in the app store may not fully realize it, but there’s more than just Photo Viewers in there!
- Flash is dying. Want to know how you can view YouTube on an iPhone and in Android? Because YouTube renders its video in h.264 HTML-5, not flash! Sure, most browsers don’t support HTML-5 yet, so YouTube still outputs them through a flash player but it’s only a matter of time. Flash will be dead, and soon. HTML-5 doesn’t hog system resources, your CPU isn’t even touched, streams faster, and is rendered directly in the browser as easily as if it were a jpeg.
- It’s connected. Unlimited data is $29.99 through AT&T and that’s without a contract. If you don’t like AT&T (or their service is spotty in your area), it’s unlocked so you can use it on any carrier. All you need is a micro-SIM and you’re good to go. And to the naysayers out there; you just call your carrier and ask for one, it’s not like only AT&T uses micro-SIM technology. This basically makes the device approachable to people who can’t get or don’t want full contracts through AT&T. All those whiny 14 year olds and broke internet experts should be happy about that, I’d think.
- It’s affordable. I defy you to look at anything else in the computer world that can do what the iPad does for the price it does it. I was excited when I heard about the different features the iPad sported. I just about came out of my chair when the price was announced. $499 is unbelievably cheap for such a device. The young’uns of today probably don’t remember when we would buy our PDAs for $699 and our crap computers for $2500. Putting something like this in the $400-900 price range ensures that it is within reach of the masses. And as Apple has shown with both the iPod and the iPhone, nothing makes you an industry leader more convincingly than by EVERYONE BUYING YOUR PRODUCT!
So, it’s out. It will change how people handle personal computing. Even if other manufacturers somehow make a competitor to the iPad, they will be hard pressed to do it with the same capabilities for the same cost. Now all Apple needs to do is get on board with Microsoft’s “Homegroup” system in Windows 7, and every computer (or pad) in the house can work perfectly together.
Introducing the Apple iWant
On January 27th, 2010, Apple Inc is poised to introduce to the world the new iSlate which will change the computing world. Or it might be the iTouch. Or iTablet. Or iCostsomuchyouwanttopuke. We really don’t know. Of course, they were also “going” to do this last year too. The fact is, we don’t know what we’re getting, when we’re getting it, what it’ll do, what it’ll cost, or what it’ll be called. If it is a tablet (and most every market analyst is falling over themselves to say it is), it’s going to be big.
Head on over to Gizmodo’s collection of Apple Tablet Rumors to get a feel for whats being talked about.
My only worry is that Apple might make some of the same mistakes Microsoft made when moving to the tablet. I also worry they might try to hang to some of their existing hardware. Below is my list of ways Apple could possibly screw this up:
- Using anything from the MacBook Air. Even when closed, it’s just a bit too thin. The tapered edges don’t sit right in your hands. The iPhone’s battery will last me 10 hours and takes an hour to charge; the Air’s lasts an hour and takes 10 to charge. And it burns your hands while doing it.
- Pulling a Microsoft. Normally, I’m a Microsoft junkie, but “Ol’ Bill” really screwed up on bringing Windows to the Tablet world. Want to know the difference between Windows and Windows Tablet Edition? A virtual keyboard. That’s it. In fact, it was such a small change that it’s been added into every Windows version except basic since Vista first launched. I have a Lenovo X61T Tablet running Windows 7 and can tell you that it’s the best tablet experience I’ve ever had with Windows. It’s also FAR short of what I’d like a Tablet to do. Bringing the already unpopular OSX* straight over to a touch-only interface would be digital suicide. Thankfully, I doubt this is likely to happen. It’s much more likely that Apple will build upon the success of the iPhone platform, which leads me to . . .
- Pulling an Apple. The one down side about an iPhone is that by default (translation: unhacked) it can’t save anything. If a friend sends me a fun sound clip, I can’t save it. Same with any other audio type or video. Reason being is that Apple doesn’t want you sharing something you could be buying from the iTunes store. It also assumes the only people you associate with also use iPhones; when sending an address to my wife from my phone, the phone offers to send it as a text. I was expecting it to send the address as a simple text message – it sent a Google Maps attachment only readable by another iPhone.
- Pulling a Sony. Steve Jobs once said that it was impossible for Apple to build what he would consider a good laptop for less than $500. You know what? I’d believe that. So why isn’t there a $501 Apple laptop? Or a $600? I use Sony as the punchline here because most everyone knows of Sony’s normally excessive price scheme for their products; products are priced so far out of people’s budgets that no one buys them. One of the joys of the iPhone was that everyone could (and DID) buy one. This segues nicely into . . .
- Ignoring the App Store. Wanna know the real reason why the iPhone is so stinking popular? It’s not it’s price (though it helps). It’s not AT&T’s stellar network (not by a long shot). It’s not even how cool it looks anymore, since many other contenders have stepped up over the last couple years. It’s the App Store. On a whim, I can download an app for between free to dirt-cheap that will completely change my phone into any sort of device I want. I bought a program that scans my local network, sniffs out all available services, checks for all open ports, allows me to connect to any device via FTP-HTTP-RDP-VNC, Telnet, and Ping. It cost me $4.99. If you wanted to buy a program that could do all that for your normal Mac, you’re looking in the $70+ range. No one is going to want to buy Mac-only software for Mac-only prices for something they want to be easy.
- Putting a stupid webcam on it. Sounds like a dumb thing, right? Think about what you use a webcam for; taking pics of yourself and instant messaging. On a laptop or desktop that’s fine. On a tablet, it becomes a different issue. Here’s a fun experiment you can try at home; grab a magazine (nothing huge like a bridal one, more like a Time and National Geographic put together). Hold it up to your face. Now talk to it for 15 min or so. You’re not going to want to do that on a regular basis. A camera is one thing, a webcam is another.
I’m fairly sure Apple won’t suffer the same pitfalls Microsoft had when trying to make the Tablet. Between Job’s normal brain-trust and the experiences they’ve had with the iPhone, I’m sure that when the Apple Tablet is announced, it will change everything. You won’t be able to game on it (well, anything past Farmville), and it won’t be for video editing. But if it’s done right, it could be the future of the personal computer; a true, carry it with you, can do anything, tricorder-esque device. IF they decide to actually announce it.
*The last official worldwide census had Apple with 3.2% of the world’s personal computer market share. Statistically speaking, you’re more likely to have liked the movie Gigli than to buy an Apple personal computer. While this number includes business computers, it does not include servers or personal electronics. This number represents actual machine usage, and not the amount of money in the industry as a $1500 Apple laptop would be equal to three $500 Dell’s.
More Freeware Options
Every geek that I know has a favorite media player. Mac geeks swear by iTunes because they’ve been brainwashed by Steve Jobs. Some Windows geeks love Windows Media Player because it has Windows in the name. And let’s not forget about Real, WinAmp, or the numerous other “standards” that people use. Despite these options, some people have and have discovered new and better ways to watch the Star Wars Holiday Special or listen to their vast MP3 collection.
I’ve mentioned before how I am able to watch various movies and TV shows at my desk while I’m working. Because these files come from an assortment of locations, I have to deal with a large number of codecs and other hoop jumping in order to watch everything that I want.
I hate Apple so I’ll never get caught using iTunes if there’s an alternative. I used to be a total WMP guy. Note that I say “used to”. About a year ago I discovered VLC Media Player. I started using it because it handled DVD playback much better than WMP. A side effect of my switch was that I no longer had to try and determine which codec pack I needed to watch the latest episode of a particular show; VLC handled every file that I threw at it flawlessly. Because of this amazing efficiency, I was able to watch what I wanted when I wanted. Not an hour later after trying an assortment of codecs.
For a long time, VLC was my media player of choice. The only drawback is that I wasn’t able to use the keyboard controls on my Logiech MX5500. Since I have this keyboard at home and at the office, this was a huge drawback but the pros far outweighed the cons so I kept using VLC.
A few months ago, I discovered a new media player: GOM. This is another free media player that handles DVDs as well as just about any video format you throw at it including Real Media, Quicktime, DivX, Xvid and FLV. The nice thing about this program though is that it uses internal codecs so, in most cases, no codecs are installed on your system. To date, I haven’t run into anything that GOM couldn’t handle which makes me very, very happy. My keyboard buttons also work with it so I don’t need to try and hit that pause button with my cursor.
While I still primarily use WMP to listen to my MP3 collection, when it comes to video files, I always run to GOM. If you’re looking for a new way to enjoy the video files on your computer, I’d suggest giving GOM a try. Of course VLC isn’t too shabby either.
The Apple conundrum part 2: When Windows Attack
This is a follow up to my last post here. If it seemed like it was a little one-sided, that’s because it was. It was getting a little long in the tooth, so I split it into two separate entries. If you read one, and feel the need to comment, please make sure to read both.
At the end of my last entry, I sort of bashed on the iPhone unfairly. It’s not that I have an actual issue with the iPhone per se, but it was the best example of Apple’s “we can charge you extra for what PC user’s have had for years!” mentality.
In truth, where Mac OS shows everything that making a computer “idiot proof” can do wrong, the iPhone shows where “idiot proof” isn’t such a bad thing! (special thanks to my friend Robert, a Mac user, for the phrase “idiot proof”).
Also this last weekend, my phone fell apart. I’m not making that up either; part of the screen fell off and the center 5-way directional wheel peeled away, leaving a nice glue spot to press against my face. I’ve never had a phone, much less a Motorola, suddenly do this and it was more than annoying. Since I can’t go out and just buy a new phone (not with all the features I want, anyway) I was in a bit of a spot until some friends came to the rescue. Welsdog and Robert both let me use their phones till I could save up for a replacement one of my own. Since Robert’s was more advanced than Welsdog’s, I settled on it out of the two.
The “old” phone is an HTC 8525 on AT&T’s network running Windows Mobile 5. Well, it was for about ten minutes anyway; I had the SIM unlocked to use my T-Mobile card and the ROM upgraded to Windows Mobile 6 within minutes. I’ve used Windows based smart-phones before, and they’ve always left me wanting. Sure, they are little powerhouses compared to most small electronics, but the interface is downright maddening!
In a device that is going to be primarily used as a phone, I don’t want to have to use a stylus to do everything. And I mean everything! Answering a call should not be a chore when I have a touch screen! You should not bury the keypad under 4 menus! This is a phone first, and a mini computer second! Windows has problems with that, it seems.
While waiting for my iMac to create its backup image and let me know if it was going to work or not, I started modifying the very nature of my phone’s interface. I decided that, for all faults it might have, the iPhone interface is actually very finger friendly. The fact that I can read and scroll through all my contacts without bringing the phone up to my chin was appealing to me. After a lot of reading, experimenting, and cursing at various applications, I was able to completely transform my Windows Mobile 6 smart phone into an iPhone clone. Only this one actually has hardware you’d want to use (and can cut & paste).
Just so we’re all up to speed on this; I made an Apple product run Windows, and made a Windows product behave like an Apple one. But I can justify this by the type of products we’re talking about! Apple’s OS X (as I previously pointed out) likes to treat a desktop system like it’s an electronic toy; to be reset and replaced on a whim. That’s not how you treat an actual workstation! That’s how you treat . . . well, an electronic toy. Sort of like a phone.
Windows treats an electronic toy (which I’m sorry, all smart phones are, I don’t care what you use them for) like it’s just as important as your desktop computer. It’s not! It’s a phone! You can reset the crap out of it and it will keep on chugging along. You actually make backups of everything important on it every time you plug it in (kinda like a Mac!), so recovering from a massive failure literally only takes a few minutes . . . and involves resetting it and restoring from backup!
Don’t get me wrong; I like that the Windows Mobile environment is flexible and powerful enough to adapt to any situation I’m going to give it. But like so many little devices, I’m only going to tweak it so much before I just let it be. Can you imagine if Microsoft had used the same interface for their car-bound Sync platform? People would die in massive pile-ups constantly!
“Sync, unlock, confirm unlock, access phone, contacts, scroll, scroll, scroll, home, main number, dial, yes. I said yes.”
Don’t even start on how you’d access your music or directions, and that’s assuming they’d even keep the voice interface!
Sync: Microsoft's first true idiot-proof concept.
It’s not that I don’t understand or appreciate Apple’s simplified interface on a laptop or PC, I do. I do, and I find myself enjoying it. But it’s such a downer when you realize that the back end of the operating system isn’t any more complex than the pretty interface on top of it.
On the flip side, Windows seems intent on bringing the same “give you every option you could ever want” to its most simple devices, leaving them drowning in menus, screen taps, and endless file directories.
I can go on and on how I hate Apple’s advertisements and their pricing structures, but that really wasn’t the point of my posts. On a design vs. design level, both Apple and Windows could learn a thing or two from each other. In the end, one could summarize the difference between the rivals as such:
In OS X, you’ll be able to find your way and understand the entire system within moments of turning it on . . . but that’s as far as it will ever be able to take you. You may never be able to learn all of Windows little secrets, but you’ll be able to take it farther than you ever thought you’d need to.
