Tag Archives: apple

Software, Technology

Google Android maturing fast

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If you read my earlier post on the Android vs IOS debate you’ll understand many of the reasons why I feel that Google’s platform isn’t quite ready for the mass market yet, despite its increasing sales success and technical brilliance. However, at Google I/O some news dropped that will make a difference to this.

In brief: Google is unifying the platform – which will mean fewer different versions in the wild, simpler and more regular updates for all phone (and tablet) users, and a marginally more tightly controlled user experience!

The conflict between open and closed, open ideals and ‘being evil’, tends to get polarised to extremes. In my view, complete choice is just too confusing for the average Joe, so am massively pleased to read that Google seems to have understood this (to some extent) – albeit from the perspective of the developers. Hopefully it’ll bring Android into contention for me the next time I review my handset choice… Which might give Google a little time to thrash it all out if the rumours of supply chain disruption to Apple’s iPhone5 production line bear true!

In unrelated news, my brother-in-law is trialling a Blackberry Torch for a week, having used an iPhone 3GS for the last 18 months. May well get his thoughts for another blog post, whichever way it goes…

Technology

A week with a MacBook Air

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Ok, those of you who read my recent post on the matter (and Tom’s more detailed review) will know that, at long last, I succumbed to Mac envy. And when my parents were at a loss as to what to get me as a gift on my recent visit to Malaysia, and I spotted the Air cost 30% less than it does in the UK, I made the suggestion… and yes, I know that even as a grown man I continue to be spoiled by my parents…

So far, there’s a lot to love and a few things I’m still getting used to. I haven’t used a Mac in any substantive way since I had a late model Powerbook G3 gifted to me by a prospective employer back in 2000, so its taking a bit of getting used to…

Love…

  1. Multi-touch touchpad. Makes a laptop useful without an external mouse. Pinch and zoom, two finger scrolling, three finger, view desktop, back/forward, application switching… all amazingly natural and a big step towards where I think human/computer interaction is trending.
  2. Boot time (short), hibernation/resume time (instantaneous), performance (good), battery life (impressive)
  3. Design (fantastic), weight (negigible), screen (crisp)
  4. AppStore (needs more integration with other apps, but otherwise…) SPARROW for email is AMAZING, as I’ve also blogged before
  5. Application integration into OSX is less intrusive (thanks to growl and the more icon-driven menu bar) and therefore it feels less clunky than even the very good Windows 7
  6. Most of the apps I use regularly have been ported or have superior versions on the Mac including Skype, Evernote, Tweetdeck, iTunes (obv), Chrome, VLC and Teamviewer. And obv MS Office, although I intend to avoid that one…
  7. I like the launcher… much more intuitive than the Start Menu although a bit fiddly to configure with Stacks in the way that I’d like…
  8. Keyboard! The data card is coming out of the iPad and a USB data card is going to be stuck into the iPad to allow blogging and writing on commutes etc.

Dislike/getting used to…

  1. Learning the subtly different way of doing things (command/alt+shift+arrow for word select instead of CTRL-shift – why?)
  2. No CLI that I can find (how do I run a ping and do that random hackery I’m used to?) Terminal App in utilities folder! Thanks Jimjam!
  3. Finding new shortcuts – I love F2 for rename (enter to rename – too simple! Thanks Jimbo) and CTRL-K to add a hyperlink and trying to figure out how to do these things (amongst others) in OSX.
  4. Search doesn’t feel as well-integrated as it is in iPhone/iPad/Windows7. Need a left swish into Finder. Oh, there it is. Top right. D’oh.
  5. Touchpad gestures a bit temperamental
  6. I can’t find a decent blogging client – Qumana is OK but Marsedit is too expensive and Microsoft haven’t ported Live Writer to Mac.
  7. Flash seems less reliable than on Windows – presumably thanks to the ongoing spat between Apple and Adobe
  8. Software updating is fiddly outside the Mac store and System Update
  9. It shipped with two Apple stickers for me to proclaim my smugness to the world. They’re going in the bin…
  10. As GeowGeow observed, no sim card slot. Therefore, imperfect…

I’ll add to this list as more occurs. Any more tips on things I should do differently on a Mac, please let me know as I’m a long way from mastering this bad boy.

I’m not a complete convert – this is a mixed platform house and we continue to use PCs as well as Macs all over the place. It is telling how central the Internet is to our existence that Amanda used the Macbook for Facebook / eMail and didn’t really notice any significant difference to her normal Windows machines… the era of the OS is dead, the web is the new OS… long live GoogBook ad Facegle!

Technology

iPad 2–I’ll give it a miss

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I’m really hoping I stick to that. Even though it sounds like they’ve made some design (thinner, lighter!) and performance (dual core!) improvements, and it has cameras and HDMI, there’s not enough there to make me want to switch. Besides, I am unlikely to get more than £400 for my existing iPad on eBay (I did check…) which makes the upgrade officially unaffordable!

I’d rather have a (sigh) Macbook Pro/Macbook Air. Using my (otherwise very good) Dell Studio XPS’s mediocre touchpad has me missing the multitouch gestures of the Macbook I experienced on Tom and Chris’ machines.

Software

Sparrow for Windows?

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One of the other things that trigger my newfound Mac envy was seeing Chris use Sparrow, a lightweight Gmail client for OSX. Now I’m a big fan of the cloud and a big fan of the Gmail UI, so was impressed that an app had been developed that actually made me want to try something else.

Of course, it doesn’t do a great deal more than the web app, especially if you use Chrome (at least as far as I can tell without a Mac to try it on properly), and it would probably be hard to justify the $10 price tag as such, but it does look slick, productivty-lorious and it’s on my WANT list for when I eventually break and go the Mac way (ETA for Armand on Mac – about 3 years).

I’m not the only PC fan to think so, either.

Video here if you’re on Mac / use Gmail.

Sparrow – The new mail for Mac from domleca on Vimeo.

Technology

Curse you, Steve Jobs

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My friend Tom (aka Flashboy) has just bought a very lovely 11″ Macbook air which I am currently ogling (and typing this blog post on).

WANT.

Don’t need, not planning on buying, but seriously, this is one sleek piece of engineering. I still don’t want a Mac as a matter of principle, still like Windows 7, but am teetering on the edge now. This is absolutely beautiful, and the more my operating system moves to the web (and I become a Google/Dropbox head), the less the OS matters.

Damnit damnit damnit.

Technology

Features I want to see in iOS5

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Dear Mr Jobs (and also FAO the nice folk at Google).

Five months into my iPhone 4 and a few days ahead of the release of iOS 4.2 (which I don’t imagine will fix any of this), here’s some things I’d like you to do in iOS 5.

1) Fix the on-screen notifications. One notification at a time only? With a multitasking phone with push notifications on dozens of apps? BORKED.
2) Swype. Android and Nokia do it for text input, and its pretty awesome.
3) Proper Gmail client. Y’know, again, like Android. Your threaded conversation is ok, but not great. Google, don’t be petty about the platform. Plenty of loyal Google users use iPhones, get over it!
4) Proper Gmaps client. Y’know, again, like Android… with turn-based Nav and other good features. As above to Google folks.
5) Pre-emptive dialling. This was the only thing I missed from Windows Mobile 6.x (and earlier) – where you typed in a number and it used pre-emptive entry to work out who you wanted from your address book. Much easier than searching for a name in the contacts…
6) A more dynamic home screen. This time its Windows Phone 7 that has stepped up its game.
7) Speed up Appstore browsing. It’s a little slow.

I’m happy for you to leave out Flash. It sucks, and the sooner the world realises that HTML5 is the way to do things, the better.

Well, that’s it from me for now. What do you think needs changing in iOS?

Technology

The new Apple iWotsit…

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I don’t need it. I don’t know what it is, exactly, but I’m confident that all my communications, entertainment and computing needs are currently met, perfectly happily. If anything, I have a surplus of communications and entertainment tools and media. Too many ways to get in touch. Too many ways to watch TV, film, see photos, listen to music, read books, email, call, Skype etc., on the move.

But damnit, I’ll bet that whatever Apple release tomorrow I’ll want. Because smug and self-satisfied as Mr Jobs is, his company is awesome at design and fantastic at getting us to ‘need’ things for no reason other than they’re beautiful and elegant. I’m not a Mac, though… that’s one thing I’ve managed to hold firm to.

Cross posted at Chivalry House.

Technology

Multiplatform life

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In a break from the monotony of soup reviews, I bring you a take on technology.

Conversations with some friends lately about new mobile phones inevitably led in one direction – “I don’t like Apple, I don’t want to buy an iPhone.” It’s a semi-rational objection, merging a dislike of Apple’s corporate practices and the known limitations of the iPhone – lack of replaceable battery, no multitasking, no native Gmail app etc.

The implication of the non-technological objection seems to be that if they start on this slippery slope, they are endorsing all the ‘closed’ business practice that Apple espouses — from App approval in the AppStore, to a relatively constrained development platform, to their close-lipped strategy around announcing new technology.

My view? Nonsense. Buying an iPhone doesn’t convert you to the Cult of Jobs and owning a Windows PC doesn’t make you inherently unfun or David Mitchell-esque. Of course, if Apple’s business practices extended into human rights violations then I think the argument might extend, but to the best of my knowledge this isn’t the case… you’re just making a decision about the technology you use, not advocating any greater moral principles. The iPhone, I admit, should come with a health warning – “this phone may make you whitter on tediously about its greatness.” And I do think it is great, but I nonetheless manage to maintain my broader dislike of Apple’s corporattitude.

I live a multiplatform life; I use Windows 7 PCs at home and at work, a Windows XP netbook, most of my ‘applications’ live in the cloud (we planned our wedding in Google Docs), but use Microsoft Office applicatons for much client work, I use Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Cisco Webex Connect and I own an iPhone – previously I’d used Windows Mobile handsets – since 2001!

I have nothing against Linux but I have no use for it, and I prefer Windows 7 to OSX. I may well try Android when it comes round to 3.0 and I’m next due an upgrade. I have an Xbox 360, a Wii and a PS3. I use a Sony e-Reader. I have a Nikon DSLR and a Canon compact digital. I use Twitter and Facebook for my status updates and social network interaction.

My digital life is complex… I won’t be pigeonholed by my choice of phone. Will you?

Software, Technology

Goodbye Windows Mobile…

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So I’ve been a faithful user of Windows Mobile since 2002 or so and the SPV 100 first launched, an underpowered but otherwise apparently well specced and capable phone. For me its ease of use, the instant familiarity of the OS and the fact it synched with my desktop were all strong motivating factors, and I was especially fond of the pre-emptive dialling feature, where you typed a contact’s name in numbers and it found it for you and let you dial them from the homescreen… Making it useful as a phone as well as a primitive Internet device – astonishing at the time.

Today, despite having used a succession of ever better designed devices, I bid it farewell. Despite the fact that the HTC Touch Dual, my last phone, was the first phone i haven’t immediately retired on becoming eligible for upgrade, it was no longer up to the job. It wasn’t really geared up for touch, had lagged behind with its Internet capabilities and the newest incarnations have shown little improvement (WM 6.5… Really?) so I’ve had to jump ship. The fact with hundreds of different Windows Mobile devices and millions of handsets, both the iPhone and Android are ahead in mobile Internet access kind of underlines the point, as does the fact that most of this post was drafted on the bus on the way to work using the new handset, the iPhone 3GS, with a WordPress app. Outstanding.

I’m not an Apple fanboy (seriously, I resisted this purchase like you wouldn’t believe), but for now, this fits my purpose. If Microsoft start innovating again (and not just relying on their hardware vendors to fix the problems in the underlying platform with innovative ‘skins’) then I will look at them again (Zunephone, please). But I suspect that both Android and Apple have stolen a lead that MS will never recover from…

Technology

Ask Armand

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In the 4 weeks since I wrote the post ‘How to fix the cannot connect to Itunes store problem‘ post it has risen to the first page of Google* for the error code that comes up when Itunes has its little hiccup and I’ve had quite a few comments (loads, by this website’s standards) of people that have found it helpful.

So… I’m happy to make it a recurring feature. If people need help on how to beat Windows into submission and make it do the things you want it to, ask me, and I’ll oblige if I can. It’s not just Jack Schofield that is a font of knowledge of these things (I imagine even Jack has to look the odd thing up on the Web), so I’ll help out if I can, and if you get me interesting requests. I’ll imagine I get fewer emails than Jack on this, so if I get interesting questions from around the office they might provide secondary food for thought…

So what are you waiting for? Ask Armand. I’ll do one post a week minimum, assuming I get enough questions…

* I’m amongst other things, a digital PR consultant, so I know that the relative recency of this post helps with its height in the organic rankings. But I’ve seen the traffic and comments come in and seem to have helped a few people with this, so am buying that it’ll stay high for a while — especially as Apple still hasn’t posted the workaround on its own site.