At WWDC, Apple made a note that MMS would be coming to the iPhone, well…to every iPhone except those on AT&T.
With the end of summer, the deadline imposed by AT&T, rapidly approaching I have yet to be able to send and receive video and pictures on my device. So I decided to take matters in to my own hands…here is what I asked @ATTNews last night.
@ATTNews Guys the summer is almost over. Where is MMS for the iPhone? I can order pizza to my GPS coordinates but I can’t receive pics?
I’ll keep tweeting until I get an answer…or MMS, whichever comes first. I am starting to think that an update opening MMS up for AT&T will be announced at the iPod event on September 9th that I keep hearing about.
If only Verizon had an iPhone…I’ll keep you posted
When Apple dropped the iPhone 3GS I quickly sprinted to my nearest computer to see if I was eligible for the subsidized price. I was not.
I was okay with it, I actually was saving up to buy a Nikon D60, however out of curiosity I went to the Apple site and checked my eligibility and it now says I can purchase an iPhone 3GS despite my upgrade date not being until March 2010.
I might go snag one next month, we’ll see. But I just thought I would pass this along on the off chance that AT&T has decided to be cool and maybe let everyone with a 3G upgrade at a reasonable price.
A few days ago I went looking for the “perfect” Twitter iPhone app. I use Twitter a lot, and as an iPhone user I am looking for the best app with the best experience possible. I recently went looking around the intrawebs for a good comprehensive review of the more prominent Twitter apps for the iPhone, and I couldn’t find any. So I decided to write one myself.
I scoured the App Store for the top apps, paid and free. So I will be giving you a brief review of Tweetie, TwitterFon Pro, Twitterrific, and TweeDeck for iPhone. I have used each apps for one full week and tested them on a 16GB iPhone 3G.
FYI: All the apps I review in this post have been purchased with my own money and I have not been approached by any of these developers to review their programs.
Tweetie is a very user friendly, simple and elegant app for “tweeps” who live and die by their iPhones. When I originally switched to Tweetie when it was released I really valued it because it was capable of managing multiple accounts, it was actually one of the first apps that could do that, all the others followed suit. I found this one to be a very reliable app as it has NEVER crashed on me, which for any iPhone app is rare. It handles trends and searches very well, and it allows you to reply, view the user’s profile, or favorite a tweet by just swiping your finger to the left.
What I like most about Tweetie, and this applies to both the iPhone client and the desktop client for Mac, is atebits’ love of smooth, simple designs. The app itself is very quick and isn’t bogged down by anything unnecessary, which is a very important feature on a Twitter app. The point of Twitter is to get those quick thoughts out as soon as possible, and Tweetie will allow you to do that.
Things I would like to see in future releases are trivial. Some new alert badges on the icons at the bottom would be great. I also think that the themes that ship aren’t anything to write home about but hey, if the app is solid, which it is, the theme doesn’t really matter. Another thing that Tweetie is missing is the cacheing of past tweets. I don’t really see this as a bad thing, it keeps the app moving quickly and it doesn’t bog down your memory. However, I can see some hardcore tweeters needing to see past tweets quickly.
TwitterFon is one of the more feature rich Twitter apps on the App Store. I really like this app because it does everything Tweetie does, but it has a few little features that really come in handy. First of all, the app I am reviewing is actually the paid version of TwitterFon, TwitterFon Pro. This app includes all of the features of TwitterFon, but also has:
support for multiple accounts
4 different themes
landscape keyboard
user authenticated bit.ly support
instapaper integration
and it’s ad-free.
What’s great about Twitterfon is the update badges it gives at the bottom whenever it refreshes with new Tweets. This is awesome because it allows you to actually see what you have before checking it. So say you don’t have any direct messages, you won’t have to go in and look. Another feature I really like is the fact that you have an address book of sorts that lets you go through names right from the new tweet window. That comes in handy when you want to tweet a friend but you forgot exactly how their handle is spelled.
Like I mentioned above, this version of TwitterFon supports multiple accounts. However, when it does handle multiple accounts I notice that it launches a very slowly at the beginning. I really didn’t like this because it slowed down the app significantly, which really prevented me from getting out a quick tweet. However if you are running this with one Twitter account, you’ll hardly notice anything. What I did like when using this to manage two accounts was that I could give a specific theme to each account. That went a long way to making sure I didn’t tweet anything from my personal twitter on to my work twitter.
The Search feature on TwitterFon is by far the best. Not only can it “fetch” trends quickly using a dedicated button, it also allows you to search, and pull Tweets that have been geotagged to your location using the iPhone’s built in GPS. It’s a cool feature that I hardly used, because I really didn’t care what people around me were tweeting.
As far as overall reliability I can’t say this is the stable Twitter app. It crashed a few times when I was in the middle of sending tweets to multiple people, and sometimes the landscape keyboard (which is a plus) wouldn’t come up when you rotated the phone. All in all good app, minor bugs.
TweetDeck is the iPhone iteration of the popular desktop client. What makes the desktop client so great is that it allows you to see a column-by-column view of everything Twitter, and the iPhone version is no different. Out of all the apps tested, TweetDeck has by far the best user interface. It allows you to swipe through the columns similar to the way you swipe through windows in Safari.
The column view is fantastic because it allows you to swipe through anything from your main feed, to mentions, to custom searches and trends feeds. While covering the Iran elections on my radio show, I used TweetDeck as my main program because it allowed me to monitor #iranelection prominently, rather than just as a search I’d have to initiate every single time.
Another great feature in line with the app’s design is it’s small notification system at the bottom left of the app. TweetDeck has hit that perfect balance of notifying you without annoying you and I really liked that.
However, TweetDeck is the youngest of these iPhone apps and as such it is the buggiest. The program crashed on me a few times, enough to get frustrated. Also there are some miner glitches in the app that I am sure will be worked out with time.
With a little time and a few updates don’t be surprised to see this app on the top of the hill. It has a great UI, and a great desktop client that allows you (by signing up for a free account) to sync columns between the iPhone and your computer, which comes in handy. But right now, it’s just good, but not great.
Twitterrific is the grandfather of the Twitter Apps on the store as it was the first one ever. In the past year it has played catch up a bit and is now more robust than ever. There are two versions of this app, the one I am testing is the free version because the paid version basically removes the ads only. I really like what Twitterrific has become as far as design. It features nice themes and each section of the app is nicely color coded.
Twitterrific is also very rich in features now that it has been brought up to date and it matches the abilities of the others reviewed here. However, I found using Twitterrific to be a bit overwhelming. There was too much tapping to get to different things that usually takes me less time on the other apps. The app very feature rich don’t get me wrong but it is definitely very busy. Overall it was rather stable, in the week that I used it I didn’t experience a single problem.
The app also handles multiple accounts and has an interesting way of letting you see them. It displays any accounts, the public timeline, and searches all on this sort of “home page”. It’s a very nice touch and sort of streamlines the whole multiple accounts thing, which it does very well.
What it all comes down to is value. Twitterrific itself is a great free app, however if you are going to buy it just to do away with the ads you might as well spend $1 less and buy Tweetie or none at all and get TweetDeck or the free version of TwitterFon. Twitterrific was left in the dust after it’s launch along side the App Store. Innovations in iPhone software development have yeilded a much better type of Twitter app. Though Twitterrific is a good app, there are much better options, some even cheaper out on the App Store.
And the winner is…?
This is a tough choice, and all the Twitter app reviews I have read always start off like this. However I feel the clear winner here is Tweetie. Tweetie is solid, reliable and well designed. It has a good list of features that hardcore Twitter users can enjoy, and light tweeters can discover. It delivers tweets well, responds quickly, and never crashes. Who knows, in a few months we might see a contender, but for now Tweetie is the king of the Twitter app jungle. Sure it costs $2.99, but you definitely get what you pay for. If you have any questions post them in the comments and I will be glad to reply.
On June 23rd, AT&T launched it’s GPS navigation app for the iPhone. I haven’t bought it, so I am not reviewing it. I just want to let everyone know that if you buy this, it’s another $10 a month on your bill. I love how AT&T charges for services Sprint gives for free. Palm Pre anyone?
I’ve always said that AT&T isn’t the shining star for customer service or appreciation, however given the fact that they hold the cell phone that I must own, it is something that I tolerate. AT&T, much like the other cell phone companies, would much rather piss you off than actually help you. Since the iPhone was released, AT&T has held the exclusive right to sell the device within the United States. Up to now AT&T has had its ups and downs, but for the most part they were doing okay. They took care of first-gen users by allowing them to move up to the 3G at the given price, but basically everything else that you experience is all Apple. But like I said, that’s up to now.
Yesterday Apple released the new iPhone 3Gs, a faster, more feature rich edition of the iPhone 3G that is making Apple fanboys drool world wide. Voice Command (finally), Compass (umm finally?), 3.0MP Auto-Focus camera with video and video editing, faster processor, 7.2MBps HSDPA, it’s awesome. To be honest, I am trying real hard not to like it, because I am as poor as a internet blogger/student can be. I was thinking of selling some stuff but I am holding off…because I want to see what AT&T will do.
When the iPhone 3G was released, AT&T (whether at the behest of Apple or not) took care of first generation iPhone users by allowing them to upgrade to the 3G with the new customer price of $199 and $299 respectively. This was a great move on both Apple and AT&T’s part because this opened up ownership of the new device to the group of people who are guaranteed to buy it again. Rather than sulking away, waiting for the upgrade eligibility day to come, these people are out buying the iPhone 3G for a reasonable price. However, I was rather surprised to see that AT&T is not doing the same thing this time around. Instead, AT&T is insisting current users under contract must pay anywhere from $399 to $699 for their 3Gs. Awesome job AT&T, shut out a solid consumer base who just so happen to be your loyal subscribers.
Though the best part of WWDC today was Apple going ahead and pressing on with the release of the iPhone 3.0 software and the iPhone 3Gs despite AT&T not being ready to support two of it’s key feature, MMS or data tethering. As I read that during the live blog I was reading I was not only proud of Apple, but pretty happy with how embarrassed AT&T should be. At the time of a major product launch, and a major software update, AT&T cannot support MMS? Something that it supports on its other devices. Some have their guesses as to what it may be, but AT&T are sticking by their guns for now and saying that MMS is to be expected by the end of summer. As far as data tethering is concerned, AT&T has said that it will support it, but has given no definitive timeline.
This years WWDC was a great show for Apple, but a wake up call for AT&T. Rumors have been swirling around for quite sometime that Apple has been shopping a custom iPhone to Verizon, and perhaps thats a good thing. That, coupled with the increasing number of iPhone users taking their software unlocked phones to T-Mobile (and T-Mo welcoming them with open arms) should be a wake-up call to AT&T. Go out of your way to get new customers sure, but don’t forget the ones that pay the massive bill every month. Compliment the quality products you carry with quality service and support.
Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better title for this post.
Anyway, I am not really surprised Apple has chosen WWDC to not only be their main gig, in terms of iPhone announcements and development details. I think the iPhone has sort of surpassed the “MacWorld Expos” and the “Apple Town Hall” type announcements. The iPhone itself has become a development platform on it’s own, running a mobilized version of OS X. Since its debut, the iPhone has evolved slowly as Apple released it grip gradually and started letting developers in. Proof positive that whenever you let developers in, things turn out pretty awesome. With the World Wide Developers Conference on the horizon, we have a lot to look forward, in both hardware and software.
Software-wise we are looking at the new iPhone 3.0 update. It’s been in beta since earlier this year and already we are expecting a lot of updates that bring it up to par with what the Palm Pre will be offering when it’s released from June 5-7 (according to the New York Times). MMS, a full phone search feature, cut & paste, are just a few features in the massive update. The update will also allow for features such as turn-by-turn navigation (along with some hardware help, we’ll get in to that later) and much more. Lastly, this update will activate the long awaited Push Notification Service that Apple has kept locked up for quite sometime.In fact the notification server is now also in beta testing today along with a new Associated Press app. I guess they were too scared to test it with a Twitter app, we would no doubt be having more “fail whales” than normal.
Critics, myself included, argue that this update is a long time coming. That this is an example of Apple’s stubbornness to satisfy its loyal consumer base and that nothing happens unless Apple absolutely HAS to do it. I have said numerous times on this site that I love phones like the Palm Pre, because it reminds Apple that they are not invincible. Either way, change is coming to the iPhone…sooner or later it always does and it always will. I have always said that features such as MMS and copy & paste WILL come, it’s only a matter of time and motivation.
On the hardware front we have…umm, rumors. New camera with on phone editing capabilities that will shoot video? Better processor and larger memory and storage space? Probably. A lot of rumors are swirling around. However, I am fairly certain that Apple will release some new hardware to go along with 3.0. Don’t be surprised if it’s awesome too. Given the way things are going in terms of screen technology, we might see some OLED action with our new iPhones. Who knows?
WWDC will be on June 8th and the keynote address will be on the same day, given by Phil Schiller.
I am happy to be posting my first blog with the new WordPress 1.2 software fir the iPhone! New features include a landscape mode with the bigger keyboard, comment moderation, and the ability to edit and create pages. Thanks to WordPress for not only making a great platform, but also a great way to use that platform. If you use wordpress and have an iPhone, I urge you to give this app a try.
Apple has announced (in it’s usual cryptic manner) that it will be demonstrating iPhone 3.0 and the new SDK on March 17. Now, what may be included in this update? At this point who the hell knows? However what I do know is that with the Palm Pre on the horizon, Apple is going to have to make a few changes in order to stay competitive.
First of all, Apple needs to add an MMS application in some way. Be it a new, separate application, or simply just allowing the SMS app to receive pictures and video, something has to be done. Steve Jobs has been quoted as saying that MMS is on it’s way out and email is the next thing, but I don’t think thats the case.
MMS may be on it’s way out, but not anytime soon. A lot of people use MMS (because they don’t have email on their phone) and it’s something very cool and very useful. Steve (or Tim) should grant iPhone users MMS and then sit and wait until it goes away on it’s own. Not force people who use and enjoy MMS to sacrifice it. I am sick of that stupid viewmymessage.com bullshit. Not that I can copy and paste the login and password anyway right?
Copy and Paste would be a very welcome addition to iPhone 3.0. This is seeming as a very likely addition for the simple reason that during the Palm Pre debut at CES, presenters made it very clear that the Pre was able to do this while the iPhone did not. Not having copy and paste on the iPhone is like not having a steering wheel in a Ferrari. Apple wants this phone to be the end all be all Blackberry killer but without a functioning copy and paste solution, I doubt it will. People who use their iPhones to run their day-to-day lives, like I do, we need copy and paste.
Another thing that Apple seems to constantly resist for no reason is video recording. If my old, $60 Motorola RAZR can record video, then my $299 iPhone should be able to as well. In fact, my RAZR has MMS, copy & paste, and video recording when my iPhone didn’t. Frankly, that is unacceptable. The camera has the capability, so come on Apple, flip the switch on the video.
The “iPhone 3.0″ event is scheduled for March 17 at 10 AM Pacific (1 PM Eastern). I’ll be back on here with the post game.
Steve Jobs leaves for six months and this thing comes out?
Seriously Apple, no buttons?! What’s next? No, seriously I have no witty remark, no guess as to what could be next? Oh wait, it talks to you? Wait, so does my Nano…and that has a screen, and buttons! Apple is taking this simplicity shit to a whole new level. Eh, what am I saying? Of course I am going to buy this. I am an Apple nerd, and just because Dear Leader is recovering at home, doesn’t mean I should stop now.
This thing is…I guess…pretty cool. Though I really don’t like the fact that it puts all of the control in the headphones, basically forcing people to use Apple’s headphones instead of the ones they prefer (*cough* Bang & Olufsen A8’s). But it’s nice to see that for only $80 you too can have the most overly simplified flash MP3 player on the market. A think digital screen would have been nice…but hey what can I say? Apple likes to fool you with “implied simplicity” sometimes. Let’s see…
I’ve had a Twitter for the longest time, but I’ve never really knew what it did. But alas, meeting other people who have Twitter has made me realize why Twitter rocks. So I reactivated and am now posting on Twitter quite often. Look me up here. Or search for my Twitter name…JLV0628. My Blog is also fed to that site using the awesome Twitterfeed service. So you’ll be up-to-date on all things TJZ…and hear my inner thoughts and random phrases throughout the day. Peace Out!
Copy and paste, data tethering, and now Flash — it looks like the Pre’s going to fill in a lot of unchecked iPhone feature boxes, doesn’t it? Yep, Palm’s just joined Adobe’s Open Screen Project, and there’s no two bones about what that means: the press release flat out says “the Open Screen Project will help deliver Adobe Flash Player for smartphones on the new Palm webOS platform.” That’s especially interesting since the webOS SDK is so heavily based on web technologies and native player support potentially opens the door for Flash-based apps, which would instantly bring a ton of new devs to the Pre. That’s not a bad thing. We’ll find out more at the end of the year, when the mobile Flash player is due to arrive.
There is no doubt that this is the second coming of “the Jesus phone”. And frankly Apple needs something like the Palm Pre. iPhone users are clamoring for features that the Palm Pre gives them and manages to give users more than what they iPhone can do. Everyone says that the Palm Pre is the iPhone killer I say no. The Palm Pre has the potential to make the iPhone the single most definitive piece of technology since the desktop computer. It’s products like the Palm Pre that force Apple to evolve the iPhone.
Trust me, for the iPhone user, this Palm Pre is a blessing in disguise. Apple knows that now there is a actually viable product that can directly compete with the iPhone. The Blackberry Storm is a valiant effort, but with a awkward input method and lack of refinement. The T-Mobile G1 is the first “open source” cell phone with Google’s Andriod OS. Though it has potential it lacks, again, the polish and smooth input that makes the iPhone so seamless. The Palm Pre has everything the G1 and the Storm have with the polish and finish of the iPhone. Not to mention the features the iPhone lacks like copy & paste, MMS, and a native instant messaging app. It will be interesting to see how Apple responds.
Being a blogger, I love to take advanatage of the abilities the web has to offer for streaming content. I think adding a video, or a picture to my words adds a lot of color and substance to my posts.
Yesterday I wanted to post a video a few from The Daily Show’s website. One was Jon Stewart describing Barack Obama’s withdraw from bipartisanship in regards to the stimulus bill. And the other was him talking about how Bill O’Reilly talks about privacy for celebrities but doesn’t practice it himself.
They were really funny, but I couldn’t post them on my blog because they have their own streaming video stuff. And so does CNN, and every other major site.
All these major websites lack uniformity in this respect. Having one or two standardized streaming video systems would be great for websites and bloggers to take advantage and spread that media on a wider scale.
I don’t know, I guess I am complaining because I can’t embed Daily Show videos on my site without a huge hassle. But am I being unreasonable?
So after doing some soul searching, the GOP decided to revamp it’s website. Look familiar? Yeah…this is the new changified GOP website, GOP.gov. We got a couple of RSS feeds, some lame YouTube videos, and a bunch of other crap in what I like to call ‘”Barack New Roman”. New look, same crappy taste? Is this a move in the right direction for the GOP in terms of reaching out? Or is this just a shiny new wrapper on the same crap. What do you guys think? Drop me a comment. Also check out the original story over at Ars Technica for details and specifics on how they designed it.
A couple of years ago, my Treo 650 and I were best friends. The Treo was a nice phone, reliable, good looking, great third party app developer base, and best of all I had Drug Wars on it. But one day I switched over to the Blackberry and never looked back. Since then Palm has been slumping big time. They have been pushing odd looking phones with a very dated OS. Since then Palm’s stock has been tanking, and people have been jumping ship to RIM or Apple in search of their Smart Phone needs. Palm event went as far as to smack on Windows Mobile to a few of their devices, but I guess that didn’t take. Cell phone makers like HTC quickly stole Palm’s thunder on that front, leaving Palm trapped in limbo, and the company’s fate in question. Well that might not be the case any more.
Yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show, Palm announced the new Palm Pre, a brand new form factor and most importantly, a brand new OS. The new Palm Pre OS, from what I can see in the demo videos ( I wish I were at CES) looks amazingly quick. The phone is equiped with a touch screen and a gesture pad by the click wheel so it is intuative to use. The best part of the whole thing is that it’s OS is basically a Linux core with WebKit. Meaning that any web developer who knows HTML, CSS or Java can basically write apps for this. Palm is promising an App Store and an SDK soon.
I guess I wasn’t expecting much, which is why I am so wowed by this phone. But I seriously think that if any phone out there can be worthy adversary for the iPhone, it’s the Palm Pre. I can’t wait to play with one of these and see what it’s really like. Right now Sprint is Palm’s exclusive launch partner for the Palm Pre, but hopefully it will be making its way over to GSM carriers (T-Mobile get on this asap) very soon. Head over to Engadget for all things Palm Pre. Pay particular attention to the video demos and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Just finished browsing Engadget’s live blog of Apple’s final Macworld keynote, it was the best nap of my life.
Phil “The Schill” Schiller was manning the engine room on this one, as Steve was on the sidelines for reasons I am sure you have read everywhere. Schiller first introduced a much expected new version of iLife ‘09, that adds facial recognition and geotagging to iPhoto, along with compatibility with Facebook and Flickr. iMovie gets a few new tricks up it’s sleeve as well. The new iMovie will have image stabilization, for those shaky camera shots, and visual effects (similar to Photobooth) just to name a few. Garageband ‘09 has a new feature called “artistic lessons” where for $4.99 you get a lesson on how to play an instrument from the people who play them best. Frankly I am a little surprised Sting decided to play the guitar instead of the lute. I don’t really care for this feature but hey, it seems pretty cool and maybe someone out there will love it.
Next up is the new version of iWork, which adds a lot of features to Keynote and Pages. I do like how they have a new Remote app for the iPhone/iPod Touch that will allow you to control a keynote presentation from your handheld. But other than that all the new updates to iWork were boringminor. Apple announced a beta of iWork.com, a sort of Google Docs killer. It will be in beta for a while but be a paid service later on…something Google Docs is not. And if it’s anything like MobileMe get ready for some crazy bugs and crashes.
Shortly after the nap inducing lecture and demo of the new iWork and iLife, The Schill brought us the only hardware offering of the day, the very much expected new 17″ Macbook Pro. This thing is a beast. Check out the specs on the Apple website but make sure you have something to collect the drool. The reason I am not listing the specs here is because I forgot them, and I want to prove a point. The reason I don’t remember it is because my mind was too distracted by all the attention given to the battery. Schiller went in to excruciating detail about how great this battery is, to the point where I really almost hated the battery.
One more thing…
I hate DRM. So when I saw that not only iTunes would be 100% DRM free (8,000,000 songs now, another 2,000,000 by the end of the quarter) but that it would be slashing prices to $0.69 per song, I was amazed. Take that Amazon MP3! This is a major step in the right direction for Apple and iTunes. Being DRM free and competitively priced will definitely keep iTunes at the #1 music retailer spot for a while.
So in the end we didn’t get the iPhone nano, nor the new Mac Mini, nor the nine inch wide iPod Touch. But I guess beggars can’t be choosers. Maybe Steve is saving the good stuff for WWDC?
With the recent announcement that Apple will withdraw from MacWorld Expo after this year, and the fact that Senior VP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller will be giving the final keynote instead of Steve Jobs, all signs are pointing to something I have thought to be true for a long time, that Apple’s fearless leader is not doing so well.
According to Gizmodo, a [very credible] source is claiming that Apple is withholding the real reason for their withdrawal from the MacWorld Expo. Originally they cited that they prefer to do in house product releases, such as the “Let’s Rock!” event or the Macbook/Macbook Pro announcement held at Cupertino, because they didn’t need the event anymore. According to the source
Steve’s health is rapidly declining. Apple is choosing to remove the hype factor strategically vs letting the hype destroy apple when the inevitable news comes later this spring.
This strategic loss will be less of a bang with investors. This is why MacWorld is a no-go anymore. No more Steve means no more hype. Saying they are no longer needing [MacWorld] is the cover designed by the worldwide “loyalty”
Normally I don’t comment on rumors too much, especially when it’s in regards to Apple, who is better at misinformation than the CIA. But this time around I am more inclined to believe this. Frankly with Steve’s fading physical appearance and sudden weight-loss, the writing has been on the wall for a long time.
Some feel that this is Apple deliberately misinforming the public and in particular the investors. Steve has been very clear that his health is his business and no one else’s. Frankly, shortly after his bout with pancreatic cancer, for which he underwent the Whipple procedure to attempt to correct, I knew that this would be the eventual outcome. Steve’s health has been the center of debate amongst the community for some time now, and frankly the doubt amongst loyalists and investors is evidence enough that there is something going on behind Apple’s iron curtain.
Does this spell doom for the company that Steve Jobs built? I don’t think so. Steve Jobs may be the fearless leader of Apple, but in the end, Apple has become more than just Steve Jobs. I know that if/when the time comes that Steve will no longer be able to serve as Apple’s CEO, Apple has someone in mind who will continue to push the envelope, continue to drive Apple in the way Steve has done (and that man I hope is Tim Cook).
What makes this so troubling is not regards to the future of Apple, because that is secure, but in regards to the man himself. I always get excited for keynotes because I know something awesome (or mildly cool) will be released. And in the four years or so that I have been following Apple, I have grown a sort of admiration and respect for Steve Jobs. It’ll be sad to see him go, and it will be even sadder to see him really go, but I am not worried that Apple’s mojo will go with him.
I have been an Apple user for a little over three years now, and will continue to be an Apple user till my unavoidable end. Apple has always made great, reliable hardware that pushes the envelope in terms of technology and innovation. And for that reason, coupled with my admiration for the company itself I choose Apple. But lately after a few blogs on the matter I, along with other iPhone users still feel a bit left out in the cold.
Since the introduction of the first generation iPhone, Apple has made it clear that it values customer feedback and looks to continue to develop the iPhone around the specific demands of iPhone users. We all begged for GPS functionality and compatibility with a 3G network, and we got it…reluctantly. We asked for third party applications, and we got that too…sort of. In exchange for third party apps we got a closed distribution system with various flaming hoops to jump through before you get your app out there. But hey, I’m not complaining.
What I am complaining about is Apple’s cryptic responses to the addition of some basic features to the iPhone, namely copy & paste and MMS messaging. With each software update, we tend to gasp slightly hoping that when our iPhones boot up again we will have some innovative, multi-touchy way of being able to copy and paste text. Or the ability to send and receive MMS messages without having to log on to that stupid AT&T website with the generated login and password. But alas, as each update passes, we are left high and dry.
As I sit at my local coffee shop (not Starbucks) I see all these Blackberry and WinMo users copy and pasting the night away. When I argue with a Blackberry user about how much better my iPhone is, the question “ah but can you copy & paste?” is the final death blow. The iPhone is like the Death Star, everything is perfect except for that poorly design exhaust port that leads directly to the main reactor. When will Apple finally concede and give us copy & paste?
So far it feels like never. Apple has made it clear that copy & paste and MMS is not their main concern. I know it has nothing to do with the fact that they can’t figure out how to do it. I mean…it’s Apple. They designed a touchscreen phone that changed the world forever, they can’t figure out how to do copy & paste? Or for that matter shoot us an MMS app on our iPhone?
I guess with all of these shortcomings, and the fact that the new Push Notification Server is officially MIA, seeing as though it’s September 2008 release date has come and gone, and gone some more, Apple seems to be dropping the ball a bit. Look, don’t get me wrong, I knew how Apple is, and how Apple lives by this idea that the customer is dumb and we must tell them what to love, but I was hoping that by now, December 2008, we would have some sort of definitive response to our pleas.
With that being said I have made a deadline. If in one year, Apple has not given the people what they want, what they ask for constantly, I will go out and buy a Blackberry Bold (or whatever ridiculous name they have for the next model). I love my iPhone, but I don’t love that my iPhone can’t do what a RAZR can. And the reason I am not at an AT&T store buying a Blackberry Bold now is because of my loyalty to Apple, my curiousity as to what will be in store for the iPhone in 2009, and my current lack of funds. This isn’t a declaration, this isn’t a threat, this is a plea. Please Apple, help a fellow nerd out and show us some update love.
You know, I never really understood this debate on whether or not Global Warming is true. I mean, lets assume for a second everyone believed that global warming was cause by man. Would radically changing our habits as a global community to achieve sustainable development, to find ways to advance ourselves and live without harming the environment be so bad? People who argue against the idea of global warming seem to be arguing against solar & wind energy, clean air acts, electric vehicles and the such.
I personally believe that global warming is real, especially when I see chunks of the arctic circle float away. But at the same time, if global warming didn’t exist, and this was all indeed cyclical, then what negative outcome can occur from going green? I would guess that not only would it create jobs, but also push the envelope in terms of technological development. I don’t know about you, but if there is even the smallest chance that global warming was cause by man, wouldn’t we want to do what we could to stop it? Leave a comment let me know how you feel.
Apple at the stroke of midnight released iPhone/iPod Touch v2.2. The update is greatly anticipated, as not only does it add cool new features, a revamped Google Maps, new Safari, and the ability to directly download podcasts, but fixes a lot of glitches. But before I begin to rant and rave about how this update STILL doesn’t contain the basic features, like MMS, like C&P, we need to keep in mind that we are at Apple’s mercy. So we take what we can get, and we wait for more.
That being said, go download this patch right now. It’s great, fixes the email fetch problem among adding some nice new features. iPod Touch users, unfortunately you guys aren’t getting as much love as we are. You won’t be receiving the nice Google Maps remake, or any of the phone feature updates. Then again just be happy this one doesn’t cost $9.99. Peace Out!
You know I was sitting around today using my iPhone to send out a couple of quick emails and I got to thinking. We love Apple for giving us the iPhone, but do they love us back for using it? I mean, I loved my Blackberry Curve. It was sleek, cool, and very reliable. It did everything I needed it to, a fit just right in my pocket. But my love for Apple made me switch to the iPhone, that and well the phone is so cool.
But what is the price of the iPhone? Well there’s two different prices, the first is the financial price. My AT&T monthly statement looks something like this…
900 Anytime Minutes w/ Rollover…$69.99
Unlimited iPhone Data Plan…$29.99 (increased $5 for 3G)
Unlimited Text Messages…$19.99
Total (with all applicable taxes): about $115 per month
But then there’s the practical price. The 3G iPhone is a great, innovating piece of technology. But for a person who constantly lives on his phone, the battery performance is not what it should be (or what it was). In the few iPhones I have had, I have noticed a major overheating problem with the unit, where it would run really hot after a couple of texts. But to me, those are very minor.
The major problem is that I, we, are all at the mercy of Apple’s whims to get what we want. We all giddily await a software update, hoping that secretly we have something in there that we actually want. We cry out for MMS, but Apple thinks that it is archaic. Ok…I can live with that. But we cry out for copy & paste, a feature that is not only found on Blackberry, but on even the simplest RAZR, and Apple says that “it’s not a priority”. What?
Recently Apple has seeded iPhone 2.2 to beta testers and developers. According to Gizmodo, here is what it will have:
Walking directions, public transport information, Street View, & share location for the Google Maps App
Line-In sound access for developers
Over-the-air podcast updates
Awesome…how about copy and paste? Nope, that’s not a priority, but share location and walking directions is right? Don’t get me wrong, I love Apple. I love the company, I love the products, and I love the people who make them. But as a consumer I am disappointed in that Apple has always abided by the notion that the customer is not always right. I do love my iPhone, I just don’t love the price we as consumers pay for it.
At first I thought a president that would constantly update his Twitter was a bit ridiculous. I’d be a bit perturbed if every time I checked my Twitter it would say something like “barackobama is having a sandwich and reading his autobiography” or “barackobama is in a cabinet meeting”. But it seems that Barack Obama is planning to do so much more than that.
Obama’s campaign has redefined the election process. Using the internet, he has raised more money than any presidential campaign in U.S. History, and single-handedly redefined the way presidential candidates will campaign for years to come. Amassing huge followings on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, Barack Obama has united a nation and secured an overwhelming vote. Using YouTube to publish speeches and rally footage, Barack Obama broadened the scope of his message from a few thousand rally goers to an entire nation.
President-Elect Obama is now preparing to integrate the Internet in to his administration, and in to the government as a whole. Following the Web 2.0 revolution, the Internet has become something much more profound. This is the Internet where someone like me can post something that can be seen by thousands of people. The power of the Internet is apparent in the recent social networking movement. News organizations are slowly moving away from print, making themselves 100% accessible on the Internet. Now imagine how the Internet has changed our lives, and now imagine how it would change our government as well.
Barack Obama’s Internet centered government stands on one basic principle. Internet for all. One cannot benefit from this “Government 2.0″ if they don’t have Internet. Barack Obama plans to use some of the money collected by the Universal Service Fund, a $7 Billion fund that is collected by the government to subsidize phone service in rural areas, to instead build high speed Internet lines that carry phone capabilities as well. This is a great idea, because not only is the money already there, but the technology is basic and not a dramatic change or step up from anything pre-existing.
Another thing I definitely like about this is that the Obama Administration (with the exception of Joe Biden) stands firmly on the idea of net neutrality. The Internet can’t grow if Internet providers pick and choose which types of data to accept, and which types of data to reject. Things like that, and like DRM would hinder the growth of this powerful tool, and hinder the goal Barack Obama wants to achieve. Passing a net neutrality act would go a long way in ending the the debate between supporters of net neutrality and companies like Comcast who want to regulate their bandwidth.
The Obama Administration has set some major goals in terms of technology. I was reading a great article in the Boston Globe that details them.
Obama wants to put YouTube-like videos of government meetings online, so citizens can see their federal agencies at work, and has proposed a Google-like database of federal grants and contracts, so people can see where their money is going. And he’ll require his Cabinet members to hold regular online town hall meetings, where they’ll field questions from the Internet audience.
I think this has a potential of being a revolutionary tool for the American people, in terms of government accountability. Some political scientists even go a step further, citing that this may be something much more, a whole new branch of the government. Technology and innovation is the next frontier for us. It’s something that will unite us, and impact out lives in many ways. Whether you agree with Barack Obama or not, it’s nice to see a President who feels the same way.
Normally I would say something like “my dog Ben could run Yahoo better than Jerry Yang”. That would be a facetious comment with no real merit. Folks, not this time. My dog could LITERALLY run Yahoo better than Jerry Yang. Check out what he said today…
“To this day, I have to say that the best thing for Microsoft to do is to buy Yahoo. I don’t think that is a bad idea at all – at the right price, whatever the price is, we are willing to sell the company. We were ready to negotiate, we wanted to negotiate a deal, and we felt that we weren’t that far apart. But at the end of the day, they withdrew and they since have been very clear about not wanting to buy the company.”
What?! So you turn down a fantastic offer from Microsoft, an offer you you thought to be lacking, and now you want it? Hindsight is indeed 20/20. Jerry Yang has a duty to his stockholders, and turning down this deal betrayed their trust. Now your stock is tanking, your stockholders are in a vituperative rage, and your company is slowly sinking in the wake of the Google mothership. Carl Ichan must be stress eating a half pint of B&J’s Cherry Garcia right now. Jerry Yang shouldn’t just be fired. He should be run out of town, with a mob of towns folk chasing him with pitchforks and torches.
Being a technologically adept person, I believe that technology, no matter the field, is what drives us. It constantly pushes the envelope, and it allows us to evolve. Nothing makes me happier than to see a President who feels the same way. Junauzu.com gathered a bunch of Obama quotes on technology and how he will use it to drive this nation forward.
The historic U.S. Presidential election has come to an end with Barack Obama emerging victorious against John McCain. Obama will become the forty-fourth President of the United States and the first African-American to be elected for the highest office.
Some of my tech savvy readers are probably wondering how will Obama utilize technology to help improve the U.S. and world economy. That is why I’m going to share to you some of Barack Obama’s tech related quotes to learn more about his plans. I also included links to the quotes’ sources. Enjoy!
“To restore America’s competitiveness, we must recruit a new generation of science and technology leaders by investing in diversity.” SOURCE
“Together, we could open up government and invite citizens in, while connecting all of America to 21st century broadband. We could use technology to help achieve universal health care, to reach for a clean energy future, and to ensure that young Americans can compete — and win — in the global economy…” SOURCE
“I will recruit new teachers and make new investments in rural schools, we’ll connect all of America to 21st century technology and telecommunications.” SOURCE
“We are a land of moon shots and miracles of science and technology that have touched the lives of millions across the planet.” SOURCE
“As president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.” SOURCE
“Ensuring that the US continues to lead the world in science and technology will be a central priority for my administration.” SOURCE
“I’ll change the posture of our federal government from being one of the most anti-science administrations in American history to one that embraces science and technology.” SOURCE
“We will fire government managers who aren’t getting results, we will cut funding for programs that are wasting your money, we will use technology and lessons from the private sector to improve efficiency across every level of government.” SOURCE
Obama said the nation needs to invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and clean coal technology “so the use of coal does not degrade our environment. We can do that if we are investing in the technology, the research and the development.” SOURCE
“We must adapt and make tradeoffs among systems originally designed for the Cold War and those required for current and future challenges. We need greater investment in advanced technology ranging from the revolutionary, like unmanned aerial vehicles and electronic warfare capabilities, to systems like the C-17 cargo and KC-X air refueling aircraft–which may not be glamorous to politicians, but are the backbone of our future ability to extend global power.” SOURCE
Obama said if elected his government would “harness technology to confront the biggest challenges that America faces”. SOURCE
Pointing to President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon, Mr. Obama said: “I will set big goals for this country as president – some so large that the technology to reach them does not yet exist.” SOURCE
Kick ass. He is doing what I did with my mom when I bought her a Mac, dragging this nation kicking and screaming in to the 21st century.
So I was browsing some of the new features iPhone 2.2 will have.
Google Street View
Ability to send Google address info via email
Ability to turn off Auto-Correct
Japanese Emoji
And recently, being asked to rate apps before you delete them (?)
But again, Copy & Paste is MISSING. I don’t get it now. We have gotten a new iPhone, countless software updates, and yet this awesome, amazing, revolutionary device lacks features that a FREE phone has? Apple said that C&P was not a “priority”. Well it should be. This is a feature that has been clamored for since the iPhone was released, and now, two years have gone by and we still don’t have it? How can this be a business device with no copy & paste?
You ask us to charge our phones twice a day because we can’t remove the battery, and we have. You have asked us to do without MMS, and we have. I have to wait till I get home to go on that stupid website to see my MMS messages but thats fine. But Copy & Paste has to come soon. We need this, I am sick of losing arguments to Blackberry users!
About a month ago, my 3G iPhone and were the best of friends. It worked great, it already knew all the curse words and spanish phrases I frequently typed, and the 16GB’s of memory was allocated…perfectly. I had all the apps in the perfect order, and I held the Tetris high score, beating out my friend Jen to regain the Tetris crown. Then suddenly one morning it just turned off…and never turned on again. After an hour and a half wait on stand by at my local Apple Store (which after the remodel, looks like heaven…literally) I finally recieved a “replacement” iPhone. Is it new? Is it used? Who knows.
So I take this new iPhone home, sync it up, good to go right? My iPhone started over heating to radical levels. And of course, the battery lasted 1 hour, no lie. So after speaking to an Apple Rep (his name was Kermit…I tried not to ask him if it was easy being green) I was told my replacement iPhone, needed to be replaced.
I love my iPhone. It is without a doubt amazing. And I love my apps. But man can I catch a break with these iPhones? Thanks for hearing me vent. Peace Out!
This is by far, one of the best free apps on the App Store. Just recently, it was upgraded to 2.0, which allowed for a much better, much cleaner user interface. I can now do everything that I could do online, on my iPhone. Coming from a Facebook junkie, it definitely comes in handy. My overall most used app.
Pandora Radio is amazing. This brings that to the iPhone. Unfortunately, as iPhone apps don’t run in teh background, you can’t really multitask with this app on, but it does come on handy when I am at work or school and want to check in on one of my many pref stations. And it’s FREE.
I love controlling iTunes and AppleTV from my iPhone. One step closer to making my iPhone a cool all-in-one device for life. Imagine if it controlled my TV…
Speaks for itself. Great app for googling on the go.
5. Tris (Discontinued)
This is a major rip off of Tetris. However, it’s free, and there was no difference. I snagged it fortunately before Apple yanked it off the App Store. If you were fortunate enough to get it too, then you know why it’s great.
Dude, this listens to a song and tells you the name of the artist and who sings it! This app has expanded my music library more than anything else. Definitely a must download.
Many a great blog have been written on my iPhone. This is great for typing up some quick thoughts, and saving drafts for when you get home or on your laptop. Very stable but a bit boring looking. I would love to be able to access Blog Stats on this.
Now you are probably asking yourself, “Jorge, why did you pay $16 for an instant messaging app?”. Well because it is THE BEST IM App, for any device. I used this on my Blackberry, gladly forking over the cash to use it, and I gladly did it again. This is an amazing app for the iPhone. It lets you access AIM, GTalk, ICQ, MSN, JiveChat, Jabber, MySpace IM, and Yahoo!. Find an app, this stable, this great to use, with this many chat services that costs less and I’ll eat my FIU hat.
This thing takes Stocks.app and tortures it Jack Bauer style. It gives you a summary list of all global markets and their stats, a customizable “My Stocks” section with great charts, info, and a 52-week summary right up front. It’s very slick looking and very stable. Excellent app from an excellent organization.
I am slowly getting on Twitter, though I just use it to get tweets from other websites. This is a great app. The free version is very tolerable with it’s ad support, though I urge you if you can to purchase the premium version. It goes a long way to support the developers who give us great apps such as these.
Great online banking app. Especially now, with the way the banks are, I like to (and sometimes have to) manage my cash on the go. Nice to know I can do it safely with this app.
This is a great note app. It requires an online service which lets you sync notes you make on your iPhone app, with your desktop and laptop apps. I have it installed on my iPhone and Macbook Air, so I have notes I make about assignments in class between them both. Really convenient app.
Fortunately I picked this up when this was free. I would have gladly paid for it though. It in essence turns your iPhone into a wireless thumb drive. Great for storing documents and stuff on it.
I was writing a great email on my iPhone today. And what would have made it greater is if I could copy and paste it a part of a website in it. I have lived without copy & paste for so long, yet I still yearn for it. It’s like asking me to live life with both arms behind my back. I love my iPhone, I really do. And I am not going to threaten to go to the Blackberry Bold or the T-Mobile G1 (barf) or anything like that. It’s not my style to cut and run. I’ve been with the iPhone from the ground floor up. Now is the time to repay me. You gave us 3G, you gave us GPS, you gave us third party apps. Why not copy & paste? Have we not been faithful? Have we not been loyal?
Please Apple. I beg you, I need my copy & paste now. This is not an angry iPhone user talking, I am not ungrateful. I am just sad, and I figure seeing the economy is bad, and times are rough, you guys could maybe cheer us up with some Copy & Paste. I…along with all the iPhone users of the world, would be fully cheered up. Thank you Your Steveness.
Umm…Hey Steve? Did you guys forget about the notification server? I mean it is September…late September actually, and yet no notification server. I have AIM sitting idly on my iPhone screen waiting to be used. I am not ungrateful or anything, I mean I am just happy my battery last longer and my apps don’t crash but come on now. When you didn’t give us MMS, we grunted but reluctantly accepted the fact that Apple no longer thinks it’s cool to send MMS messages. When you denied us Copy & Paste, I was deeply saddened that I couldn’t copy and paste chuck norris quotes from the internet on to the facebook pages of my friends or select and remove texts. But now look at me Steve…look at us all. If you would have told me back when I was a Blackberry user that I would have a phone with no copy and paste, no apps that can run in the background, and no MMS I might have laughed at you. But I, WE, have followed you blindly through the gates of unchartered territory that is the iPhone. Reward your soldiers. Peace Out.
So, you like Google Chrome huh? You think it’s the kitten’s mittens, don’t you? It’s so fast, so sleek, and the logo looks like a Super PoKe Ball. But by downloading Google Chrome, or any Google spawn, you are slowly surrendering your GSoul. Lets first walk through the Google Chrome installation process. So you download it, and launch the .exe (wow haven’t typed .exe in a while). And then it makes you read and agree to the user agreement. But here in lies the first attempt for Google to own you. If you notice in the user agreement, it states
11. Content license from you
11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.
11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.
11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.
11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above license.
I’ve emboldened the juicy parts. So in essence, you have Google Chrome, you write a blog, or type out your “About Me” section on MySpace for the 30th time and Google will own it. So keep that in mind while you are enjoying Google Chrome.
Another branch of the Google reach is the new Android OS. This is Google’s new attempt at world domination, it wants to own your phone. See, I think Google’s biggest problem, as Dan Lyons puts it, is that it doesn’t own everything.
Google is all about solving the world’s most difficult problems — specifically, those problems that prevent Google from owning every last piece of the world.
Google wants your phone. Google wants your computer. Google wants you. I mean come on man look, do you think StreetView is actually is actually useful? Thats just Google looking inside your house.
It’s pretty funny, don’t get me wrong. I would follow Jerry Seinfeld blindly to the ends of the Earth, the man is pure comedic genius, but come on. I don’t see anything here on how Microsoft is going to take it to Apple. A goldfish with a blog? What?
I really don’t understand this commercial. So Microsoft wants to make computers you can eat? Umm..ok? Microsoft sure knows how to lame up everything. Somewhere, Steve Balmer is surrounded by 12 “yes men” all telling him what a great job he did. But deep down…he is still trying to figure out what this means.
Engadget just broke a new story about an Apple event for the 9th. I always like to write something up before the event, and make some predictions and see if they come true one week from now. This is what I think His Steveness will bestow upon us next Tuesday:
The Expected
A New iPod Nano: This is I think a no brainer. The net has been a buzz with leaked photos and case designs for the new nano. The shots show the alleged new nano going from the chubby short version (that I once hated until I held it in my hand) to a longer, narrower design with a vertical wide screen. It is almost a little Zune like. I doubt they will hold more than 8GBs.
Refreshened iPod Touch: This I think is coming too. The new iPod Touch would probably refreshed a bit to maybe jive with the iPhone a bit. Most important, rumor is Apple is going to debut the 2.1 update on the touch first…then on to the iPhone, so definitely pay attention for that. I would like to see a large capacity iPod Touch (64GB or higher). Though the only way I would consider an upgrade is if it exceeds 160GB (my current iPod Classics’s capacity) which I doubt highly. I do expect however, the Touch will see a major price drop (along with the nano and iPod Classic)
The Not So Expected
iTunes Subscription Service: There has been some buzz on this. I am still sitting on the fence whether I think this will be coming or not. For every reason I think Apple might go for this, there is a reason I think they won’t. At the same time, having access to the iTunes store would be great, I like to keep my music. And I HATE DRM subscription services. I think a lot of Apple users feel the same way, so this may not be so popular.
New MacBooks & MacBook Pros: These are highly expected, though I don’t think they’ll pop up tomorrow. Again, they might so they can take advantage of the holiday season, however I would think to save this for a MacWorld Expo type event. However, if they did debut tomorrow they would be welcomed. I think they will jive to match their new sibling the MacBook Air (my preferred daily driver). I guess only time will tell.
One More Thing…
Steve is notorious for dropping something crazy on us. I have no idea what it could be. It may be the new MacBooks, the subscription service, or maybe even an Mac Tablet (hmmmmmm)? Anyway, if you’d like weigh in. I’d like to see what you all think might go down on Tuesday.
P.S.
One more quick thing. I am in math class so I am typing this out on my iPhone so forgive the typos. I am pretty optimistic that the iPhone notification server will show itself in some way on the 9th. It might not go live but I think we definitely will be getting some details and a hard release date. That would be great…AIM sucks without it.
So I saw one of these the other day and it suddenly struck me, the Segway can easily become more popular than walking. Though here is my question, why are we allowing this? I mean, it’s really dorky looking. Sure it’s a breakthrough in transportation and all that but come on…it’s not really a chick magnet. But I mean come on, whatever happened to walking? Seriously, I am afraid that as soon as this picks up, and we will abandon walking all together. And then the only companies that will flourish will be funeral homes specializing in heavy duty caskets and of course…Segway.
So, in case you have been living under a rock for the past 3 days, Obama chose Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. Well as I was still indecisive in making a choice, so I was looking in to Senator Biden and I found this article. The articles shows Biden’s voting record on issues such as peer-to-peer networks and is very anti-encryption. Gizmodo sums his record up nicely…
“He asked Congress to spend $1 billion to monitor peer-to-peer activity. (In fairness, much of this is to prevent child pornography, but the tactic is apparently a little blunt.)
Two Biden bills have been explicitly anti-encryption, because you know, encryption makes it hard for the FBI to read people’s e-mails.
He has expressed support for internet taxes and internet filtering in schools and libraries.
The RIAA seems to be one of his best buddies: Biden sponsored a bill that would restrict recording of songs from satellite and net radio, and another one that would make it a felony to “trick” a computer into playing back unauthorized songs or running bootlegged videogames. That latter one died when Verizon, Microsoft, Apple, eBay and Yahoo all argued against it.
Biden was one of just four senators invited to attend a celebration of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act hosted by the MPAA’s Jack Valenti and the RIAA’s Hillary Rosen, two of American file-sharer’s most wanted.
When he was asked in 2006 about proposing net-neutrality laws, he said there was no need, since any bit-filtering violations would provoke such a huge public ruckus they’d have to hold congressional hearings anyway–and they’d be standing-room only. (Wonder if Biden reads Gizmodo.) [CNet]“
So as of right now, as a staunch supporter of net neutrality and the such, I don’t think I can give Barack Obama my full support. Though I believe the man wants to change things, and though he is a supporter of net neutrality, I think his choice of Joe Biden as Vice-President is not a sound one. I think in an age where the internet plays such a big part in our lives, Senator Biden would do nothing but hinder it.
I love instant messaging. It’s on my PC and my phone, and it sure beats SMS and MMS by a long shot. But seeing as though instant messaging has evolved from something imbedded in to AOL to something that has become a primary way we communicate with each other, we need to realize how sometimes it could be a bit ‘overused’. Seriously, I think IM was sort of invented for the sake of small talk. If I need to reach my friends with any sort of urgency, well, I will call or text them. But lately, I have been victim to what I had dubbed “Boredom Chat”. Boredom Chat is when a person, out of boredom, frequently contacts another person who they normally don’t talk to and sort of share with them, mundane and uninteresting thoughts and plans they have for the very near future. It usually starts off with “What’s up?” or something along those lines. Now this question will probably be repeated several times throughout a 2 to 3 hour span. As if anything significant can happen within those few hours. Replying with “not much” or “nm” will do nothing for you. This will in no way throw a wrench in to this machine. Soon after that, the person will sort of speak to you like if you know more or less everything they are talking about. This comes to fruition as maybe a reference to an event in their lives. An example of that would be “Man that project was real hard.” See, at this point is when our curious nature tends to betray us. This usually leads to something along the lines of “What project is that?” After this you enter the point of no return. It is this very point one must fight to stay away from. Because once you hit it, the flood of completely pointless information will drown you. From here you will not only find out what the project is about, but this will spring in to various paths of conversation that will eventually lead you to either make up an excuse and sign off, or, go completely insane. How can this be avoided you ask? At this point it’s up to you to be resourceful. Just as a couple of people had to get shot before they perfected kevlar vests, a few people must go insane before we can escape something like this. Anyway, stay tuned for part two of “The Art of Instant Messaging” where I am going to delve in to how emotion doesn’t exist in the world of text communication.
No I am not a drunk. Believe it or not, I was once one of the 12,000,000+ people who played Word of Warcraft. I rarely admit to this, as it does hinder my chances with women among other social interactions, but sometimes one must reflect on their past in order to understand their future. Honestly, people who laugh at people who play this don’t really understand what this game demands from you. My friends and I all played together, fought in the most glorious of battles, fended off the horde more times that we can count. We’ve amassed piles of Murlocheads, have slain many an instance boss, and have lost many rolls for purple items dropped by common creatures. But as those who have played know…this game does a bit more than just entertain you. It has the ability to become you’re free time. When you get home, you want to play. When you wake up, you want to play. The difference between us and others is that we realized just before it was too late. We have lives. Things we need to do, things we need to accomplish. WoW, as awesome as I am willing to admit that it is, is just a distraction. So if you are like my friends and I, recovering from quite possibly one of the most profound gaming experiences of the digital age, I am happy for you. And if you are still walking the kingdom of Azeroth, well I am jealous of the amount of free time you have.
OK, when Facebook released the code to make applications I thought that was pretty cool. But as so frequently happens when you give the masses even the slightest bit of power, this get grossly out of hand. Instead of genuinely constructive applications (like your iLike and Flickr) we have become subjects to these insanely annoying applications that involve you inviting more people and sending them drinks and pieces of flair. Look, I am all for the occasional fun app that does nothing but entertain you (that’s why I paid $9.99 to put bejeweled on my iPhone) Facebook these apps are nothing but annoying. Look I am not being a jerk here. This is not in a jerk tone. This is in a “I’m sick of denying 18 application requests every night” tone. So in closing, I don’t want a piece of flair, a drink, or a “Human Pet”. I don’t want to be a pirate or a ninja (though if I had to choose, I’d choose pirate…they are cooler). I don’t want to be a Vampire or a Werewolf (though again, I’d choose Werewolf). Peace Out.
I had sent my iPod in for service after it was having trouble connecting to iTunes. Normally this would surprise me, but this time…I saw it coming. I had really given this iPod a beating, more of a beating than any other. I had chipped away at it’s painted aluminum in a few places, and I even dented the casing here and there. It was by far the most resilient one I had, we had been through many wars together. Many washed cars, many falls, many good times listening to good music. It had serenaded many girlfriends, it had entertained many family members during long road trips. But now, it’s time for you to rest. My unusual amount of abuse, and your predisposition to break in crazy ways has finally led to your demise. I have missed you…for the 10 minutes it took the rude Best Buy customer service rep to look up my extended warranty and give me a new…silver one. Peace Out Bat Pod.
I have always been an avid texter. In fact, I can safely say I used my phone more for texting and email rather than actual phone calls. It’s quick, convenient, and also cool. It’s quiet so you can do it in a meeting, or in class. And the other person can read it when they want to. But lately, after various events in my life, I have changed my position slightly on texting. Before I keep going is it “I texted her” or “I text her”? My friend says that text in the past sense is still text. If anyone can get back to me on that I would appreciate it. So back to the subject at hand. I think we, as a tech savvy society that we no doubt are, are letting SMS become a very prevalent mode of communication. We text each other for everything, which looking at it for what it’s worth isn’t a bad thing. I mean living in an age where information and communication happens instantly is a marvel of our times and a major step forward in out evolution as a society. But we abuse that ability constantly. Being able to send short, quick bursts text messages has sort of gone in it’s own direction. We have developed a set language for it based on abbreviations which, convenient as it is, is sort of hindering our vocabulary. Sociologists think that in 50 years well will be saying “BTW” instead of by the way. LOL is the one that scares me the most. We have taken an emotion and translated that down to three letters. You know when you say LOL, 90% of the time you aren’t laughing out loud and you know it. The other day I was talking to my friends, and one of them said LOL while laughing. I think everyone got the point of what I am saying now then after that. Turn off your computer for a while and just, read a book or something. I mean every now and then I will say “WTF” when I am doing my Dane Cook impression (if you ever see me, ask me to do it. I don’t like to toot my own horn, but it’s awesome) but I am not that bad.
You can see it sort of worsening through the younger age groups. At the time I was 21, I went out with a girl who was 19. She had this horrible habit of literally conducting every conversation we have over text message. The bad thing about text message is that it’s emotionless. For the record, , , :-/, and :-$ (whatever that one is) are NOT emotions. I will not let a colon and parenthesis simulate the look on my face. Conversations over text lead to confusion. Can you tell if I am happy or sad? Of course not. So what do you think happened? After the second 3 page text I got out of there faster than if a grenade landed in my fox hole. Moral of the story, never date a girl who prefers texting over actually, you know, conversation. Your bill will go up, and your thumbs will hurt.
Texting rocks. It’s one of the best way to communicate with anyone you know. But honestly, lets every now and then put our phones down and remember that we all live relatively close to each other on this little blueberry called Earth. Give someone a call, use video chat even, something that you don’t have to type on. C U L8tr.
I totally caved, and in the worse possible way no less.
I did the line at the Aventura Apple Store. It wasn’t terrible though, I think the entire experience lasted about an hour. I waited in line and made friends with some people and we bonded in our nerdyness. As new people walked in, the Apple employees would start to clap and cheer excitedly, as if they were making a dollar off of every iPhone sold. With the entire store being white and very brightly lit it kind of made me think that this is what would it be like when I arrive in Heaven. I almost cried. After finally making it inside I sat for a minute while I waited for an Apple employee to hook up my new iPhone. I decided to go with the 16GB in black. The white looked VERY nice however, I am not big on holding a big white phone to my face. Even though you can’t see the smudges as clearly. Whatever, they hooked it up and I was on my way.
Once I got home I synced it up, and started fiddling around with it. The 3G is blinding fast. It definitely supplements the apps well. The GPS is spot on too, even though you have to be outside to really use it. The only qualm I have with it is that it is a MASSIVE battery hog. I mean seriously, I am not going to be to quick to bash yet because I haven’t really broken the battery in yet, I am still in the process. I charged it last night to full, unplugged it at around 10 pm. With moderate use and it running on just 3G (WiFi, Location Services, and Bluetooth off.) it’s about a little less than half way used. I don’t think that it is the phone, but rather the software itself. I remember when the EDGE iPhone had just been released it was a battery hog as well. After a few updates, and a nicely conditioned battery everything was right as rain. This should be no different. After loading the 2.0 software on the EDGE iPhone, I noticed it too ran out of battery quickly. Other than the the phone is excellent, and in my totally unbiased opinion worth the upgrade. 3G makes this phone work better. Mail (coupled with MobileMe) is much more fluent and reliable, and Apple despite not including copy & paste and MMS added a few other minor details I missed. Such as the ability to change the email address you are sending an email from in the compose window, this is helpful since I have more than one address. Also I like that you can save pictures and attachments now, a very missed feature.
Another thing that makes the iPhone 2.0 great is the App Store. It’s really nicely executed and has I believe about 500 or so apps with more to come. While I am waiting for Spore, I found these apps pretty cool…
AIM (FREE): Of course, this is a much anticipated app. It works really well over 3G though it can be a bit buggy, then again most early software is, so be cool.\
Facebook (FREE): This app is pretty good. It could have been great if it included stuff like wall posting, and album viewing, much like the web app did. I say, download this for your inbox and chat, and keep the web app around for everything else.
iTunes Remote (FREE): This allows your iPhone to control your iTunes or AppleTV. Freaking awesome, I love it.
Big Tipper ($1.99): This is the mack daddy of tip calculators. And at $1.99 it’s not terribly over priced.
Pandora (FREE): Basically this is the app to stream Pandora to your iPhone. It’s good, though I wish it would let you use it while you used another app.
Shazam (FREE): This is a nice app that can identify a track by listening to it. I heard that they may, down the road, charge a monthly fee for this, so take advantage now.
Urbanspoon (FREE): This one is a nice add if you can never decide what to eat when you go out. It’s like a magic eight ball but that gives you restaurant suggestions. Trust me, that’ll make sense once you use it.
BoxOffice (FREE): A nice movie times app.
Super Monkey Ball ($9.99): OK, I will admit this is a bit much to pay. But I love Super Monkey Ball. And you will too.
Tap Tap Revenge (FREE): Guitar Hero had a love affair with Dance Dance Revolution. This is their unplanned child.
Bloomberg (FREE): If Stocks didn’t already exist on the iPhone, I would totally have this. This is for the hardcore economics nerd.
So all in all, I love the iPhone 3G. Sure it has it’s problems, but the great thing about it is that it has plenty of room to grow, and plenty of changes to be made. With it’s support for exchange and MobileMe, it is now a great Blackberry alternative. And App Store will ensure that the iPhone will have an endless supply of fresh new apps that take advantage of all it’s abilities. Peace Out.
So here is the scoop. The lines all over the world for this phone are massive. Here in Miami, the Aventura and The Falls Apple Stores are at 400+ people. Where am I you ask? Sitting comfortably in my office. I successfully upgraded my “old” iPhone to the 2.0 software so I am just chillin‘ out waiting for my crazed Apple brethren to calm themselves so I can get my iPhone. That might happen tomorrow or I might just go and get my iPhone on Tuesday. Also, Apple apparently has not learned from the last time thousands of people activated their iPhone all at once. iTunes Activation servers are down, leaving Apple Nerds to wait cantankerously in the sun nationwide. Though I hear they are handing out water bottles and pizza. I guess His Steveness finds it a bit difficult to sell a guy an iPhone when he is passed out on the sidewalk due to dehydration. Apple is letting customers go home to finish the activation process, something AT&T doesn’t like at all. But you have no choice. We Apple nerds are a rowdy bunch. So anyway, this will hopefully be the second to last blog about the iPhone. The next one will be me explaining how I got it. Peace Out.
The time is almost here. And though I am excited I am maintaining a cool head. My friend who is devout Apple Nerd is heading over at 3 A.M. in order to wait in line for the 3G. I don’t know whats up, but logic won’t allow me to do this. I mean first of all, I can’t wake up at 3 A.M. unless there is a situation of life and death. I don’t care if Megan Fox is standing outside the Apple Store, looking the way she did in Transformers, handing out iPhones…wait that’s a poor example cause I would actually wake up at 3 A.M. for that. Ummm, well anyway, I am not waking up at 3 A.M. for it that’s for sure. I might just casually stroll in to my local Apple store on my way home from work and pick one up. Apple is good about keeping up the stock and I don’t think the demand for that iPhone will be too high like before. David Pogue, one of the tech writers for the New York Times wrote up a review about the iPhone 3G and made a good point. He said,
“This time, though, when the iPhone 3G goes on sale in AT&T and Apple stores, iPhone Mania will be considerably more muted. That’s partly because the mystery is gone, partly because the AT&T service costs more and partly because there won’t be many new features in what Apple is calling the iPhone 3G.”
He is right. The mystery IS gone. And honestly 3G service not being available in some areas, the fact that the GPS cannot do turn-by-turn directions, and that the iPhone 2.0 software is available as a free update for the 6,000,000 iPhone users currently out there, are a couple of reasons to NOT to upgrade. The reason I am upgrading is because I surf the most while I am not on WiFi. The 3G service coupled with AppStore and MobileMe is an amazing combination. That, and I don’t want a GPS in my next car, so I want something with GPS. I also want it cause, lets face it, I love the iPhone and I want the new one. I want it in black though I am curious to see how good it looks in white. We’ll see though the color choice is a game time decision. I look forward most to exploring the AppStore. I have been urning for AIM on my iPhone for a very long time, soon it shall come true. That and I am hearing about a couple of cool games and an application that allows for VoIP support. We are one day away, I can’t wait to stop writing about this ha ha. Peace Out!
So the iPhone is coming out on June 11th. I am pretty stoked, can’t wait to use all the new features and download apps and stuff. Plus I dropped my iPhone the other day while I was on the way to the beach. There is a nice size crater on the back of it now, it looks like the lunar surface. It knows it’s about to be replaced and handed down to my technologically deprived mother. Wish me luck trying to teach her how to use it.
It was a good week for music releases. The new Shinedown CD is out. It’s really good, about par with their last one. I like Shinedown, they have evolved a lot as a band. I like listening to a band’s albums one after another. You can see their sound change as they are trying to get comfortable with their sound. I also picked up the new Amos Lee CD. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it, though the previews I heard on iTunes were really good. I like his sound, it’s very chill, very mellow. Good to listen to when you get home after a long day. I might check out the new Motley Crue and G. Love & Special Sauce albums too, I am going to see how far I can stretch this iTunes gift card. I also have been itching to snag Thriving Ivory’s debut album. They are a really great band, I love getting in on the ground floor with new bands.
Don Imus should really just be quiet. Ok, sure what he said recently wasn’t THAT terrible. In fact, it’s highly debatable whether or not what he said was offensive. But honestly, why play with fire man? It’s like he got caught with his hand in the racist cookie jar and then goes back to fiddle around with the lid a bit. For real man, just stop talking about black people for a while.
The finally announced the The Sopranos Box Set. Forty DVD’s, 10 pounds, $400. Sold.
I think the title explains it all. First of all, it is more or less a glorified bathroom scale…that laughs at you. My small mother likes to play Wii Fit and when she climbs on, it welcomes her. “Ready to go!”. Mind you, my mother is rather small and really doesn’t weigh that much. Me? I am a rather big guy, so when I climb on the Wii fit is like “Ahhh!”. What is that?! Every time I climb on in yelps in pain! I am surprised it’s not like “Hey fat man…try not to break me.” or the classic “one player at a time please”. Piece of arrogant plastic circuitry. Oh and then it does a body test…a joyful 5 minutes.
“Measuring…Measuring…Measuring…OVERWEIGHT!!”
Awesome. But no, the Wii Fit likes to rub salt in your wounds as it asks you for a reason why you have not met your weight loss goals for the week. Then it lists stuff like “I’m lazy”, “I eat too much.”, “I eat at night.” and so on. Click I’m lazy, I dare you. And prepare for the half hour lecture that will ensue. Whatever. I am going to keep doing it though, just to spite that little plastic bathroom scale.
I was just sitting here playing with my Facebook and I was wondering how horrible it would be if everyone broke up using the cancel relationship button. Couldn’t they have named that better? Think about it, you are checking your Facebook and notice you boyfriend/girlfriend had just suddenly ended your relationship and moved on. I mean come on…that has got to be a lousy situation that I AM SURE has happened before. By far it has to be one of the most powerful internet links.
I promise, this will be my last nerdy, Apple geek blog for a while (well until I actually get it). But I am pretty psyched and it’s things like these that cause it.
This ran on mactalk.com.au the other night. Honestly…if I get a box like that in the mail, I’m opening it. At least for my own enjoyment. A closed box with that written on it would drive me insane. Then again Steve probably has sensors wired to it to prevent such openings with out his knowledge. Then the Apple Ninjas are dispatched. No one wants to fight an Apple Ninja.
We are a weekend away. Weekends always go by so quickly, because you sleep most of the time and just go out at night. It’ll be Monday in no time. The only worse thing about not knowing is knowing when you will know. I’ll give you a moment to let that make sense in your head.
So recapping everything, here is what I think will happen on Monday.
1. New iPhone with 3G, GPS, WiFi. Slightly new look, maybe a bit smaller, thinner. Available sometime this week (maybe Wednesday or Friday, cause they want the big lines and the publicity.)
2. iPhone OSX 2.0 with the App Store. Available Immediately.
3. Beta Announcement for OS X Leopar 10.6 (Snow Leopard) Available sometime early next year.
4. Maybe another surprise (MacTablet, a new Newton?)
Am I going to put money on this? Probably not. It would be weird if His Steveness debuts more hardware than software at WWDC. After all it is a conference for software developers. However, he does love to put on a good show. So it’s anyone’s guess at this point. Peace Out.
So here are the random thoughts, ideas, and emotions running through my head.
I think Hillary needs to come to the fact that she lost. Right now she is just making herself look bad by not conceding defeat. I think it’s great that Barack Obama got the nomination. I think it’s a HUGE step in the right direction for this country and for the way we are perceived around the world. Hillary needs to realize what’s best for the country and not draw this out any further and maybe he’ll be less annoyed and consider her for VP.
In a couple of hours it’s going to be 5 days till the 3G iPhone comes out. On the outside, I am calm and collected. On the inside, I can barely contain myself. This is going to be a great product. I admire Steve Jobs. The guy is a business and marketing genius. Apple loves to ride the wave of massive hype all the way to a single moment. And what sets Apple apart from Microsoft, from Dell, from HP, is at the end of it all, whatever they release surpasses the hype that they create. It becomes such a revolutionary product, that it forces the industry to evolve.
My biggest fear in life is not being able to hear God. But I think sometimes, it’s not that God has stopped talking, it’s that I have stopped listening. I have tackled this issue here before, but I think it’s definitely more about being silent. Sometimes, we fill our lives with some many things, we take on so many decisions on our own, thinking we’ll be ok, then one day, when we do need God, we can’t hear Him over all the noise. Trusting God with every facet of your life is SO important. Making a little time to be silent today, will make things clearer for you tomorrow. That being said, trusting God with everything also includes your finances. Since I started working again, I have decided that it’s time my tithe reflected it. So come payday, I will be getting my tithe on.
I think I am over MySpace. I keep it, just basically to say I have it. I don’t get comments on it, I don’t feel like changing the way it looks, and I like to swap the song out once a month. Everyone I know is on Facebook. I like it better actually, it’s more mature. I can see myself being on Facebook forever, I might delete my MySpace after I am 35 or something.
Yep, after a stern recommendation from my fitness minded and Wii fanatic friend CiCi I decided to get a Wii Fit. I went to Best Buy today to stimulate the economy a bit. It was the obvious choice. So far I have only scratched the Wii Fit surface, but this thing is NOT in anyway what you think it is. Wii Fit isn’t just Wii Sports on steroids, but this is an actual tool you can use to well…get fit. So far I have only tried the unspeakable horror that is Yoga. However, there are also games to help your balance, strength training and aerobics simulators as well. You even have your own personal trainer. So, I am not going to announce any goals or anything, but I will probably post my progress here once a month. The Wii Fit is in danger of not being taken seriously, I however will, and we’ll see how it works.
I am totally off on June 9th. I will be sitting in my PJ’s in front of my computer, excited to see exactly how much money I will be handing over to Apple this year. Usually the World Wide Developers Conference is a place where Mac software developers gather to show off their creations. But this year, it’s going to be a bit different. Apple will definitely be releasing a 3G iPhone at the conference along with the 2.0 update. Usually my inner-nerd lies dormant. He only wakes during events such as these, trips to Best Buy, and certain Marvel movies that end with Samuel Jackson recruiting for The Avengers. The wait is totally killing me. We all deal with the waiting in our own ways. I need to pray for a bit more patience sometimes. But in waiting for this iPhone, I have been doing different things to keep busy. I have since improved my golf score, lost 6 pounds jogging, increased my accuracy in Call of Duty 4 by 10%, taken a defensive driving course, and finished painting my room. Oh and I finished all my work for the week, which is why I am writing this blog.
The sound it made against the pavement (the first three times) was all too familiar. Then the sound it made on the linoleum floor of the copy room was a little different. Then when it landed in the grass while I was walking the dog it was a bit better. I think I got all the ants and grass out of it. I am pretty sure my iPod has 2 weeks of joyful music playing before it suddenly stops working and gives me that frustratingly vague sad face that it gives you when it has taken it’s last figurative breath, and all you have is a paper weight. So then I must send it away to Best Buy where a month later they will confirm what I already know and grant me a brand new iPod. Oh well…
My iPod though has been stuck on “emo” for the past couple of days. I like to put it on shuffle but it’s probably thinking “Hey, let me pick only the songs that will throw Jorge in to a tailspin of depression!” Needless to say after Air Supply’s “All Out Of Love” I was on my way to Publix to pick up a bag of puffy Cheetos and lament on past relationships. A marathon of Futureweapons on the Military Channel cleared that right up. I think it’s better though, I just played through Journey’s Greatest Hits. Not only are they not emo but I have this need to go jogging to “Only The Young”.
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At WWDC, Apple made a note that MMS would be coming to the iPhone, well…to every iPhone except those on AT&T.
When Apple dropped the iPhone 3GS I quickly sprinted to my nearest computer to see if I was eligible for the subsidized price. I was not.
Sorry, I couldn’t think of a better title for this post.
Apple at the stroke of midnight released iPhone/iPod Touch v2.2. The update is greatly anticipated, as not only does it add cool new features, a revamped Google Maps, new Safari, and the ability to directly download podcasts, but fixes a lot of glitches. But before I begin to rant and rave about how this update STILL doesn’t contain the basic features, like MMS, like C&P, we need to keep in mind that we are at Apple’s mercy. So we take what we can get, and we wait for more.
Here is a quick list of the apps that make my iPhone amazing. Check them out.
So, you like Google Chrome huh? You think it’s the kitten’s mittens, don’t you? It’s so fast, so sleek, and the logo looks like a Super PoKe Ball. But by downloading Google Chrome, or any Google spawn, you are slowly surrendering your GSoul. Lets first walk through the Google Chrome installation process. So you download it, and launch the .exe (wow haven’t typed .exe in a while). And then it makes you read and agree to the user agreement. But here in lies the first attempt for Google to own you. If you notice in the user agreement, it states 
, 
, :-/, and :-$ (whatever that one is) are NOT emotions. I will not let a colon and parenthesis simulate the look on my face. Conversations over text lead to confusion. Can you tell if I am happy or sad? Of course not. So what do you think happened? After the second 3 page text I got out of there faster than if a grenade landed in my fox hole. Moral of the story, never date a girl who prefers texting over actually, you know, conversation. Your bill will go up, and your thumbs will hurt.
