thepetecast2014 ep3: yeah, me again

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Draw Every Day January 28, 2012: The Astronaut and the iPod

I love my bag of astronauts! For this drawing, I pulled one out of the bag with a flag and put it on my desk in front of my iPod Nano.  Ironic, since, they share the same country of origin.  Funny how the American flag the astronaut holds is all torn up (it does have 13 stripes, however--I counted!).

I know Amazon wants us to buy their new flaming thing but can't they support iThingies a bit better than this?

I know Amazon wants us to buy their new flaming thing but can't they support iThingies a bit better than this?, a photo by thepetecom on Flickr.

I snapped this last night while trying to buy the awesome score for the brilliant UK show "Misfits" last night. Amazon's cloud player will work but the media gallery does what you see below. I can stream mp3s via Safari but playing in the background is super flakey. I wish they would just do an app. In the end I did buy the "Misfits" score but had to use my MacBook Pro to download it. Could have DLed it on my Android phone, of course.

Underwhelming Announcements from #Apple (Along with serious misrepresentations, too)

From my Tumblr:

“For another metric, we measure adoption. If you look at Windows 7, it took them about 20 weeks to reach 10% of their base. It took Lion 2 weeks. - Tim Cook”

Six million copies of Lion downloaded so far — 80 percent more than Snow Leopard - The Next Web (via thenextweb)

Sorry, kids, this was one of the many misrepresentations (lies, even) presented in today’s underwhelming Apple event.  Comparing Apple’s success to Microsoft’s is pretty much identical to comparing apples to oranges.  Why are the numbers above no significant? Because Apple charged a pitance for their single-versioned OS which was downloadable.  If Microsoft had such a system and chose to sell a single OS at $30/per, they’d reach higher saturation, too.  Instead, Apple did something entirely different and blamed Microsoft for not doing as well.“Yes, with the new ‘wheel’ from Apple, you can do so much more than you could with that old fashioned plank you drag around.  The guys who designed that thing were morons.”

Sure, it’s an improvement, and Apple’s system does move more product, but it’s hardly fair to compare.

But they pulled this crap all over the place.  It's like they were trying desperately to cover for the fact that they weren't announcing an iPhone 5.  Most of the numbers they presented were just utter bullshit, like those above.  At one point, they compared PC market growth to Mac market growth as though that meant something at all.  PCs are still everywhere.  It makes sense that their market growth is a paltry 4% since they're already owned by everyone.  Yes, Mac market share jumped 23% and that's nice, mildly impressive even, but the comparison to the PC market is just not a logical one.

They called the iPod Touch the number one handheld gaming system.  But that's a total fallacy.  The iPod Touch isn't a gaming system at all.  It's a convergence device.  It's like the Swiss Army Knife people claiming their knives are comparable to the butter knives in your silverware drawer.  And newsflash, I have yet to see Super Mario games show up on iOS.  When they do, maybe I'll think about retiring my DSi XL.

Is any of this type of behavior new? No.  But this time around it seems worse than usual to me.  Basically nothing in today's event made me want anything Apple is offering right now.  I couldn't care less about their entire line.  Well, I'd like an iPad 2, but only because iPlayer isn't available for Android.  But that had nothing to do with today's announcements and I'm not about to drop $400 just so I can use one app.

What really scares me is that there is so little actual innovation going on these days.  People will point to "Siri," Apple's new voice-recognition/command system available only on the iPhone 4S, but since when does anyone like to use voice commands?  Android has had similar features (not as built-up, obviously) for a while and I've never used it once.  Sure, some folks might like literally telling their phone what to do but I like the tactile experience.  I don't want to broadcast to everyone around me what I'm doing and I feel like speech requires more thought than just pressing buttons or touching icons.  I can be thinking about what I'm going to do while my fingers tap the icons on the screen, rather thing thinking of the right words to say to get the right app or info to pop up.

So, basically, Apple's "innovation" is something I don't think people really want.  It may seem like a cool bell/whistle, but really, it's nothing that innovative.  It's just another layer of interface.  Plus, who wants their requested information on that tiny screen?  I don't care how crystal clear the screen is, I still feel like I'm looking through a hole at the words I want to read.

Anyway, it's just more "fun" from the Apple Reality Distortion Field.

I still have three more questions for Apple:

1) Why does the iPhone 4S not support 4G networks?

2) Why no iPhone 5?

3) Why no plans to put out a midsized device, like a 7in tablet? (I already have a 10in netbook and you already sell a 10in Macbook Air, don't you?  Won't people who own those not want an iPad?).

Apple continues to make me shake my head.

“But it’s an iPhone, Jen!"

“But it’s an iPhone, Jen. I might be able to get an iPhone without giving any money to Apple. I’ll be living the dream.”

Ah, if you’re a tech person or even use tech in your life, you need to watch “The IT Crowd.”

And it would be awesome to have an iPhone without giving money to Apple.  I dumped my AT&T contract as soon as the first unlock came out.

Of course, even if you could have an iPhone without giving money to Apple, you’d still be stuck with their “walled garden”.  You can get a lot from Cydia, but not enough and I think there are plenty more free apps that are actually useful in the “garden” than in Cydia, sadly.

But seriously—check out “The IT Crowd”—it’s on Netflix. TOTALLY worth it!!

Oh, Apple... isn't this what got Micro$oft in trouble?

Recently updated iTunes and found this waiting for me in my MacBook Pro’s dock:



And magically an icon for Apples new App Store appears in my dock. Anti-trust much? :

Apple Inc.: A prominent new reason we need a pro-Net Neutrality Law

I noticed this over the past few weeks as I read various coverage of iPhone apps that Apple was and was not letting get through.  Check out these headlines:

Radio Station Apps: No Longer Welcome in the App Store

Apple Bans Android Magazine From The App Store

Why Does Apple Make Donation Apps So Hard?

In short, Apple seems to be using it’s position to stop certain information from getting onto it’s devices.  Want to listen to your favorite local radio station now that you live in a different city? Sorry, you won’t be able to on your iPhone.  That’s a shame since it’s just a little station with a tiny budget and not much ability to reach a national audience. Now, thanks to Apple, a great (and inexpensive) channel for reaching a national audience is gone.

Then, we’ve got Apple deciding whether or not you can read about competitors to Apple on Apple devices.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t like Apple telling me what I can and can’t read on my iDevice.  Sure, I can always pull up that Android magazine’s website in Safari, but then, what’s the difference between Safari and an app?

Finally, that last article I link to above talks about how Apple has stopped accepting apps that allow in-app donations to charity orgs (or anyone else).  Why is this? It sure seems like it’s because it means money passes through Apple’s infrastructure without them getting a cut.

Over all, I feel that it’s this kind of “walled garden” mentality that makes us less free as consumers.  When we start accepting limits on what content we are allowed to consume and how we consume that content, I think we become less free as a people, too.

You don’t really appreciate how important Net Neutrality is until you don’t have it anymore.

Why sure, Apple! I'd be happy to read all 55 pages of this iTunes/iPhone agreement thingy!

No! I don’t think 55 pages is an absurd number of pages to expext people to read at all!

At first this iPhone stun gun attachment sounds like a great idea—but it plugs into the doc

At first this iPhone stun gun attachment sounds like a great idea—but it plugs into the dock connector—shock-yourself-much?

yaruo:

iPhone?9??????????????????????????????Stunfone? - Touch Lab - ??? ??

iPhone?????????????9??????????????????????Stunfone??????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????Web????????

?Stunfone???9??????????
iPhone??????????

?????????????

Down the Memory Hole? Maybe, but we're watching it happen.

whitneymcn:

rafer:

jeffrock:

[much snipped here]

Like the Ministry of Truth, it appears that Apple is deliberately attempting to usurp the meaning of the word Flash in the computing industry and redefine it. They’re tired of the word standing for an inefficient browser plugin. They’ve begun leaving Flash out of stock Mac OS X installs. They’re dodging its implied meaning in calls and pushing what they want it to refer to. Fast, efficient storage.

Down the memory hole, indeed.

Rafer sez:
Jobs is doing some sketchy stuff, vis-a-vis redefining “open,” et al. However, Flash is the longstanding private trademark of a pretty darn big company. If they can’t defend themselves by learning how to either ship a great version of this product or market decently, they deserve to be redefined and forgotten.

I started thinking about a related phenomenon the other night. My main takeaway at this point is that right now Apple understands the power of shaping and controlling language better than any other company out there.

For me the issue then becomes whether we, as consumers, should put up with it.  I’m switching to Android with my next phone for myriad reasons, one of which is I do think Apple has really started to exploit customer ignorance by enhancing it.

A Few Things I've Noticed While Mobile Browsing on the iPhone

More and more I find myself wanting to browse the web on-the-go but then don’t when I remember how websites and the iPhone seem to work together to make browsing the web annoying as hell.

Offending Website #1: Engadget

First off, Engadget’s mobile version is annoying as hell because every time I back out of an article the main page jumps to the top so I can see an ad display. This results in me clicking on an article I don’t want to read because the page doesn’t jump to the top instantly.  Fine, show me the ad, but don’t show me the main page and then jump to the top!  Also, Engadget, don’t allow your writers to refer to the source link when the mobile version of your posts doesn’t display it!

No more: “Hit up the source link for more info.”

This is INCREDIBLY ANNOYING.

Also: Where are comments? I can neither read nor post comments to the mobile version of your site, Engadget. PLEASE CHANGE THIS.

There is one more thing I’d like to complain about Engadget doing, but see below for that.*

Offending Website #2: Gizmodo

Forget their recent rabid Apple fanboyism (“modal computing” is the future, huh?), Gizmodo’s mobile browsing experience has just been odd.  This is a shame since it’s normally much better than Engadget’s.  For instance, check out these screen grabs:



Does that look like gadget news to you? Does the below image?



Ironically, that second image IS gadget news, not that you’d recognize either as Gizmodo’s mobile version.  It seems like there’s a random full-page ad it throws up every so often.  The catch is that it’s clearly formatted for bigger screens.  And what’s the point of advertising for Gizmodo WHEN I’M ALREADY THERE??

>_<

Also, what’s with comments, Gizzy?  Sure, it’s cool that we can, at least, read them, but why can’t we post them? How am I supposed to make fun of the shameless Apple otaku that you have writing for you while I’m away from my desk?

Generally, though Gizzer does do mobile browsing pretty well, so kudos.

There is one more thing that Gizmodo does, however, and I bitch about it below.*

Offending iPhone Maker #1 (ok, they’re the ONLY iPhone maker): Apple Inc

Steve Jobs likes to say that you can surf the real web on the iPhone.  Steve Jobs also likes to say that Flash sucks ass.  Well, you’re wrong and then you’re right, but regardless, FLASH IS EVERYWHERE:



*The really annoying thing that both Engadget and Gizmodo do (LOADS of other blogs do this, too), is post a video (or a slew of them) and then don’t include any copy along with them to explain what’s going on in them.  So, if you don’t want to watch a video or can’t, you screwed.  Of course, it would help if Steve Jobs could pull his head out of his ass and support Flash.

I am SO switching to Android!!!

The New MacBook Airs... meh...

chcameron:

New MacBook Airs. 11” and 13”

I say, “meh.”

One word: “SNAP!”

That’s the sound it’ll make when you put it in your bag and accidentally lean against just once.  It’s just too damn thin and not small enough.  Why is Steve Jobs so afraid of making a netbook?

Yeah, big fat “MEH” from me, too.  I have yet to read about the event, but I know to not expect much.  Someone recently suggested Apple is at it’s most innovative right now.  Really? Is that why it took them almost 3 iPhones to add cut and paste?  Is that why there isn’t a camera on the iPad?

I’ll post more about today’s “event” later.  Until then, I remain adequately jaded.

Steve Jobs is Scared

One thing I’ve learned in life is that most people don’t speak out or speak up unless they’re scared of something. Fear is a great motivator.  In fact, if you think about it, none of us really do anything we don’t want to without fear being at the core of that motivation.

Seeing as the last couple times Steve Jobs spoke to the press outside of his usual key-note-based comfort zones it was to 1) assure people he wasn’t dying and 2) to explain to everyone how he was going to deal with antennagate, it follows that him showing up on that “earnings call” thing yesterday was something he did because he is scared—and I think he’s scared shitless.  Sure, I’m scared I’m wrong, which is why I’m posting this, but that’s beside the point.  Steve Jobs is seriously brown-pantsing it.

“We’ve now passed RIM and I don’t see them catching up with us in the foreseeable future.”

Really, Steve? Last time I checked RIM had way more experience in smartphoning than Apple. Last time I checked, RIM had their Blackberry phones firmly established in the business world as the smartphones grown-ups use.  Their core market is probably not going anywhere.  They shouldn’t try to expand and if they just stick to what they do best, they’ll be fine.  They won’t “beat” you, but they shouldn’t care. What’s more is that you won’t be able to make inroads into their specific market, either, because (and I should know) iPhones just take too much effort to do basic stuff.  BB’s just work—unlike iPhones.  iPhones are like the Windows PCs of the smartphone world (with better design, of course).  But seriously, if RIM keeps their flagship product focused on what it does best, they are invincible against Apple.

“…we believe integrated will trump fragmented every time.”

Really? You mean like Apple computers? Or like Windows computers?  Last time I checked there isn’t a single type of computer that runs Windows, Linux or even OSX. There are quite a few. So, if by “every time” you mean “every time you’ve tried it with your iOS devices” then I can see your point.  However, you completely ignore the rest of the world of devices that run on MUCH more open systems than iOS devices (aka unwalled gardens).  There’s also this myth going around that people actually think of Windows boxes first when considering the definition of “open”.  No chance. I think Linux.  That bitch is open.  Sure, I see the theory that Windows is open (ie anyone can program for Windows) but Linux is better known for it.  All that aside, “fragmented” (aka too many different hardware configs to code software for) is a bullshit argument since that’s what OSes are for.  OSes give programmers a universal set of “buttons” to press (commands to use) that do the same thing on every device that runs the given OS.  So, this is an outright and complete LIE.

This is like Al Qeada actually representing a real threat to America.  This is like nukes in Iraq.  This is like illegal immigration and homophobia.  Jobs is trumping this shit up to scare people—plain and simple.  And when I see people buy into shit like this, it’s the Absurd Disconnect I talk about so much over at website666.com.

Everyone seriously needs to spend 30 seconds thinking about what they are saying to make sure it makes sense.

“The more Jobs talks about the iPad, the more apparent that he sees it as his true legacy. And as laptops continue to give way to tablets, he’ll be the guy who first gave them to us.” -Gizmodo’s Brian Barrett in a post last night.

Which is absolutely sad since the guy pretty much made computers (and gadgets in general) cool.  I love my MacBook Pro and my PowerBook before it (my MacBook sucked ass and should never have been born along with the iBook I had before my PowerBook, but I’m seriously digressing).  I’ve loved my iPods and my iPhone for quite a while.  What I hate is when Steve gets his fingers in things—iTunes ruins more and more of my iExperience the more I rely on it.  For years I never “synced” anything with any iDevice I owned (I just click “manually manage”).  Finally, I’ve handed control over to iTunes and I hate it.  I expected to like it in a sort of “it’s nice to be part of the hive mind” way, but nope.  So it pisses me off that this idiot may think his latest “gizmo” is his true legacy and not making a success out of computers that “just work.”

I’m going to skip over the part where Steve hates Flash—we all know he does and we all know he’s stupid for giving in to this hate since (as much as I wish it wasn’t) Flash is everywhere. I am reminded of this every time I’m reading blogs on my iPhone and I can’t play embedded video.  HTML 5, huh Steve?

I’m also skipping his AppleTV propaganda.  Apple TV is useless. Newsflash: if you have a Touch or an iPhone, you can pretty much plug that into your TV and do everything the AppleTV can do.  OK, maybe not HD, but if you really give a shit, you already have a device plugged into your TV that does.  So effyou AppleTV.

“We think the current crop of 7-inch tablets are going to be DOA-Dead on Arrival. Their manufacturers will learn the painful lesson that their tablets are too small…”

Really, Steve?  Is that why you once, famously said that people didn’t want video on their iPods? I may be just one man, but I DON’T want an iPad—why? Because the screen is too big.  If I’m going to drop $500+ on something like this, it’s going to be a something that is more convenient than what I have now.  Carrying a 10 inch tablet in my bag is just a few inches more convenient than carrying my 13-inch MacBook Pro. And it’s just a few inches LESS convenient than carrying my 7-inch netbook around which has a keyboard attached to it (which will always make for easier typing).  And guess what, Steve!  My netbook lets me install whatever software I want on it!  WOW.

Oh and so, when I do upgrade from my iPhone I’ll be switching to a tablet-phone device.  Probably the Dell Streak.  The 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab is still to big for me (and their backside cam is too crappy), so the Streak is perfect. Great for watching video and (more importantly) perfect for reading.  I’ve tried reading books and scripts on the iPhone and it’s like reading a book through a pinhole camera to me.  It’s doable, but give me a real book any day—or a Streak, which is big enough for what I need it for but small enough to carry with me everywhere.  And if I get a Bluetooth keyboard, I can type on it like a grown-up writer.

So, there are scores of practical reasons for smaller-screens than the one on the iPad. The Kindle has a 7-inch screen and while some folks prefer the DX’s bigger screen, I prefer the portability of the 7-inch Kindle.  It’s plenty big enough to read (and I miss that size screen since I gave mine to my Mom) and it’s thin/light enough to keep with me always.  It’s still too big to pocket, but the iPad is even more too big.

In conclusion…

I think it’s hilarious that guys like Jobs don’t just take stock in what they have.  They have to keep talking shit about other people, other companies and other ideas.  Even if Apple ceases to exist tomorrow, they will still have done what no other company has.  They lost everything and got it back.  They provided real competition to the monolith that is the Windows PC.  They created a mechanism where with every sneeze, burp and fart out of Cupertino, they can cause ripples in the fabric of the tech world.

Apple is now worth more than any other tech company on the stock market—and that’s not enough for Steve.

That’s sad, man.  To see him so scared like this is sad.

It’s OK, Steve, no one’s going to take your Apple Empire away from ya, buddy.  It may get a little smaller, but you’ll still be stinking rich and largely in control of all you survey.  Well, except *my* iPhone, I’ve turned off your little kill switch.  So far the world hasn’t ended, so I’m pretty sure it’s cool.

sources for this post: posts on Gizmodo and Engadget.

Screencaps: Trying out the new Netflix Instant Watch App for iPhone on my iPhone 3G (Verdict: it rocks!! Well, so far.)

When I saw the Endgadget post on the new Netflix App for iPhone this morning, I knew what had just been bumped to the top of my task list: upgrading my iPhone AGAIN.  You may recall that I recently downgraded from iOS4 back to 3.1.2.  Well, wouldn’t you know it? The new Netflix app isn’t compatible with 3.1.2.  THANKFULLY, it’ IS compatible with 3.1.3, so I don’t have to upgrade to iOS4 again and relive the nightmare hellscape of my iPhone 3G choking and crashing just because I like wallpapers and multitasking.  ANYWAY, the funny thing is that I had never heard there was a 3.1.3, but that didn’t stop me from Googling it and getting a copy of it and then DLing a copy of PwnageTool 3.1.5.  Needless to say, it’s all done and while I do have to reinstall all my fun Jailbroken apps (I love Activator!!) it’s all worth it to be able to use Netflix in the palm of my hand.  Here are some screencaps:

Obviously ya gotta turn it sideways:

 

Here’s a cap from a show I’ve been watching a bit of. It’s fun but not brilliant.

 

And here’s what the UI looks like while playing.  Controlling is smooth enough, and playback is pristinely smooth.  I’m VERY happy with the Netflix app!!

I’ve only noodled around a bit with it, so I have yet to have a chance to stumble across any bugs.  Still, this is truly a useful app and one I’ve been looking forward to ever since I started streaming Netflix.

Life with an iPhone without a data plan (GPS thinks I’m on the holodeck).Why does A

Life with an iPhone without a data plan (GPS thinks I’m on the holodeck).

Why does Apple have to be so lame? I would gladly sacrifice a couple gigs of space on my iPhone for all the maps of NYC stored locally.  Lame, Apple. Lame.

Luckily, I’ve Jailbroken, so I can download the Maps Enhancer which allows me to cache maps.  This is cool, but it still means I need to plan ahead and find the places I plan on visiting in gMaps before I visit them IRL. I always forget to do this. :

iPhone 3G iOS 4 woes being dealt with... by downgrading... but what next?

After being tired of the sluggish crashiness of my 3G iPhone running iOS4, I downgraded to 3.1.2 today. Thanks, Apple, for finally adding so many basic features to your latest phone, but making the OS so bloaty it won’t run smoothly on the 3G iPhone :

At least under my Jailbroken iPhone running OS 3.1.2, it’ll run reasonably well with all the features it should have come with in the first place.  Too bad some (paid!) apps have been updated to the point they won’t run on 3.1.2.  Luckily, there are sites like Hackulo.us that keep old versions around (a site I feel I am perfectly justified in using so long as I’m just trying out apps or finding old versions of apps that have been updated beyond my current phone’s ability—I’m lookin’ at YOU Joby Gorillacam!).

The next thing I’m pondering is what to do for my next cell phone.  Sure, I want to upgrade to something with more storage, but the question now has become, do I go with the iPhone 4 (the predictable route) or the Dell Streak, which seems to give me almost the exact form factor I’m looking for.

The pros of the Dell Streak:

1) It’s a tablet—5 inches is perfect for e-books and watching videos.

2) It’s still a phone, which means I wouldn’t have to carry this and a cell phone, like I used to do when I still hand my Kindle 2. (I don’t worry about the ludicrous suggestion of looking like a dork with a giant handset, since there’s this little device called a “Bluetooth headset” that’s been around for a while.)

3) Logitech makes a Bluetooth keyboard that would almost perfectly fits the Streak, making it an almost perfect replacement for my eee pc 4g netbook, which would then be another thing I wouldn’t have to carry around with me.

4) expandable/swapable storage: unlike the iPhone, the Streak has a miniSDHC card I can dump stuff on at my whim (no iTunes required!!)

5) It’s an Android device which means I can drag-and-drop and enjoy all of the other benefits of a mostly open system

Pros of the iPhone 4:

1) THAT GORGEOUS DISPLAY. I am pretty much mad about this display—it’s so impressive that it looks amazing even in photos and videos.

2) I’m a Mac guy and until I read about the Streak, I had pretty much given myself over to the mercy of iTunes (as much as I resisted for years), ready to sacrifice freedom for an easier life (much like a Christian critical of the Bible).  When you use Apple products the way His Steveness wants you to, they’re actually pretty awesome.  Of course, when you use them the way *I* actually want to, you ended up with all sorts of hell (how DARE I what to use my gadgets the way I want to!  Really!  Free will? AS IF!)

3) The World of Apple backing up the damn thing.  This is pretty important to me—when I have trouble with the Dell Streak, where do I go?  I’m sure there’s someplace I can go for help (aside from the ‘net, I mean) but with the iPhone I can just go to one of four Apple stores within a 30 minute subway ride from me.

4) the iPhone finally has all the features it should have had all along, great battery life (Engadget claimed their i4 lasted 38 hours of regular use on one charge), HD video, cut-n-paste, front facing cam, video conferencing, camera flash and—well, no 4G connectivity.  But hey, Apple’s got to give us a reason to buy the NEXT iPhone, too, right?  You don’t think they didn’t call it the “iPhone 4G” by accident, did you?

Cons of the Dell Streak:

1) Display is big, but not as gorgeous as the iPhone 4’s.

2) When/if I have trouble with it, no easy place to go for help/repair.

3) battery life is not as impressive as the iPhone 4—and when I’ll be using it for as much stuff as I’m planning (phone, e-reader, email, light browsing, word processor), it needs to have a good battery.  Granted, I can always bring an external charger or an actual replacement battery, but not having to shut down and swap out is nice.*

Cons of the iPhone 4:

1) Small screen—too small for browsing, really, or word processing, or reading.

2) iTunes. I’ve always hated it and always will.  Fine, Apple, don’t let us DnD OFF of the device, but just integrate access to dump things onto the device into Finder/Explorer.  Why do we need a whole separate app just for throwing a couple of extra tracks onto our Phone/iPods? But no DnD is actually a big deal to me—dragging and dropping may seem like something that isn’t that big of a deal, but while you’re waiting for your iPhone to sync (even though you’re adding one album or one video) is annoying as hell, when you’re already running late.

3) Closed system.  Even after jailbreaking the iPhone won’t do *everything* I want it to.  Close, but there will always be things that are just impossible to run in any practical way—like Flash or Android. ;)

So, it’s a pretty even fight, huh?

I’m not sure what to do since they’re the same cost.  I may choose neither since neither is exactly what I need (the Streak would be if the screen was higher rez and had a real “big boy” keyboard).

Which would you choose?

*UPDATE 20100822: I found a review of the Dell Streak that describes the battery life as being superb—apparently it will go a full day with regular use and could even last a weekend if you use it a little less.  Engadget had the iPhone 4 at 38 hours—but really, I’d just need the Streak to go 24 since it’s convenient to charge it every night.  Buy an extra battery for $40 from the Dell website and I’ll never worry again.  In short: that’s one less “con” for the Streak.

Seriously awesome iPhonic irony from inside the Apple store...

Seriously awesome iPhonic irony from inside the Apple store. I hope Mr. WristLiveStrong-Bracelet-Man did this to an iPad next ;)

(via teikyo)

Stowe Boyd predicts the future: Social iTunes in the Cloud

Link: Stowe Boyd predicts the future: Social iTunes in the Cloud

Stowe Boyd suggests a possible reason for why Apple hasn’t done anything with LaLa yet: a whole new social network needs to be built in the cloud for media sharing—he calls it The Orchard. I think…

My Apple iPhone/iPod/iEverything-related Wishlist

“Dear Steve,” from brentbillock:

My top four requests for Apple.

1. Voice Control  on iPhone for more than just music and calling. For example: “Launch Maps,” “Create Email,” “Open Google,” or “Turn On Bluetooth.” Invoking Voice Memos with Voice Control seems especially obvious.


2. In iTunes, please let me delete a terrible song, no matter what playlist I’m in when I hear it. Now I have to go find it in the “Music” view.


3. In iTunes/iPhone integration, please sync smart playlists with “live updating.” That’s the whole point of smart playlists. I shouldn’t have to turn it off in order to take those tunes with me.


4. Direct access to photos and videos shot with iPhone. This “iPhoto to iMovie which may or may not coordinate with iTunes” process is ridiculously clumsy. Please let me drag and drop and decide later what application I want to use.

It’s only because so much of the UX is done so well that small problems like this annoy me.

How about a single application to rule them all? Instead of iPhoto, iTunes and iMovie, how ‘bout just iApp that allows you to just stay in one app?

Better yet, why not just integrate these apps into Finder?

Why bother with the illusion of an application at all?  Or is it all because of the iTunes Store?  Well, that shouldn’t rule out the iApp to rule them all, then.

glasgow-effect:

aldakila:

fuckyeahglasgow:

Apple Launches New Product in Glasgow

The ibusker. Waiting lists are filling up all over Eastern Europe.

via- pietrach

This just made me laugh…

…in a sad, disdainful way, at the decay of the western world.

^_^