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Why I bought an iPhone 3GS

I’ve got my 3GS (no space any more in the name) now. It’s great.

I just got it, literally, a day ago. No I didn’t rush out to order one at WWDC after the keynote. I didn’t go wait in line at an Apple store, or any other variation on fan boy-dom. Oh and I could have, because I nver bought a 3G and bought my 2G on ebay, so I’ve been contract free for a while.

No longer.

I wasn’t sold on the 3GS. for one thing, it’s still aesthetically ugly IMO. It’s plastic, which I don’t like. I don’t like it because plastic feels crappy. I don’t like it because when the 2G came out, Apple made a big deal about plastic sucking and the aluminum body being so nice. I agree.

I’m bummed that Apple (in a move very unlike them) didn’t change the outward appearance at all. Typically apple makes new models look a big different (I suspect so that the fanboy, early adopters can feel special, and be visually better/apart from the masses), if you sat a 3G and 3GS next to each other, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference (it’s not impossible).

What sold me, wasn’t the compass, the voice dialing, event the stereo bluetooth. It was the speed.

I read that it was (roughly) 54% faster than the 3G. That’s pretty substantial. It’s also got more system RAM, and more graphics capabilities.

I might have been ok with sticking with 2G and EDGE (or buying a 3G on Ebay), but Apple has made it clear to developers, that supporting iPhone OS 2.2.1 isn’t in the picture, they need to build apps for 3.0, which means apps that will be expecting more system RAM, better graphics, and faster CPUs. Things I didn’t have, and wouldn’t have in the 3G.

Plus as Tom and I do an iPhone developer conference, we figured one of us should be keeping up with the Jone’s, in this case our developer community.

So I own a 3GS, and it’s about what I expected, wicked fast, making the iPhone that much more an actually useful device. I’m sure next summer Apple will roll something out, and I’ll have to skip it or pay through the nose since now I’m back in a 2 year contract, but oh well.

Tags: Apple, Conferences, iPhone, Technology

Close the patent office right now!

This AppleInsider post is further proof, that the patent system is 100% flawed.

MONEC Holding Ltd, can rot in hell. I’ve never heard of them, and based on their website I’m guessing they’re nothing more than a patent troll.

Basically, they’re suing Apple (Not Amazon) for hyping the iPod/iPhone as a touch screen eBook reader. Something they patented in 2002. What’s wrong with that? Well in 7 years they’ve got nothing to show, clearly and their patent is clearly as vague as possible.

“dimensions such that [...] approximately one page of a book can be illustrated at normal size, this display being integrated in a flat, frame-like housing.”

“Electronic device, preferably an electronic book.”

Emphasis mine, but really? That’s a patent? “I’ll build something that’s sorta like a book, but maybe a touch screen in some kind of frame, and it’ll display ebooks probably.”

WTF?!

Not only should they not have been awarded a patent in the first place, but I strongly maintain that any patent awarded on vaporware should have a life of no more than 5 years. If you can’t execute your idea in 5 years (Less actually, but 5 is easy to use) move aside and let someone else with the means to innovate take a stab at it.

Our patent process is such an innovation killer! Apple certainly does their fair share of patent craziness, but they actualy, eventually execute on a lot of them. Some they don’t and those should also go back into the pool in 5 years.

Patents are rediculous, I challange anyone to show me a patent that’s done good. That hasn’t stifled innovation, that hasn’t locked out competition, for completely stupid reasons, or isn’t just plain stupid (patenting a click, or a molecule, color, shape, etc)

Tags: Apple, patents suck, Technology

Microsoft taking a lesson from Wal-Mart.

I’d say the end is nigh, but for Microsoft to be hiring a Wal-Mart exec to manage their (third? second?) retail store, the end is about 100 yeards back there some where.

I gotta say, Microsoft’s problems are many, and large, and it’s sad that they’re going down a path of copying Apple (poorly), rather than actually working to fix the problems. Dell and Gateway both thought (to their own detriment) that a retail store was the savior of their business. Now it seems Microsoft is doing the same.

PC makers, Microsoft, listen to us, we’re mac people. IT’S NOT THE STORE.

It’s the entire package.

It’s the OS that wasn’t a shitty re-write of System 7,8 or 9

It’s the hardware that isn’t plastic, that feels sturdy in your hand.

It’s the genius bar that will help my mom eject a DVD and help me troubleshoot a faulty Wireless card.

Throwing open a store front to sell Office 2009, Windows 7, and a bunch of lame keyboards and mice, NOT THE SOLUTION.

Oh and hiring someone from Wal-Mart? Really? Is that the image Microsoft wants? Low quality low price leader? Vlasic pickles in 2 gallon jars? Failed MP3 store?

Microsoft has officially jumped the shark I’m afraid.

Windows 7 looks nice, i’ll admit, I played with the beta a bit, but really, Microsoft needs to follow Apple’s lead. START OVER. Sure Apple didn’t start from scratch, Microsoft doesn’t have to either, buy some one else, some one with a better product (that would be anyone), make it Windows X or something.

Tags: Apple, Microsoft

My review of the Macbook

I realize I’ve not put down my thoughts on my new Macbook so here they are.

It’s ok.I’m coming from a Macbook Pro. I figured I didn’t need a Pro since I’m not writing code daily, and I don’t game, so I didn’t need a beefier video card. Also since I have the Macbook Air I wanted to swap out my Sprint ExpressCard for a USB model. So Macbook it was.

I got the Macbook just before Adobe MAX, and took it with me, to break in and play with :)

Exterior:

The unibody is awesome. Dodge did it, it sucked, Apple did it, it worked sweetly! There’s not even the slightest flex when you pick it up by a corner, which I experienced often with my MBP. There’s no creaking or anything. No screws to be seen, which is simply prettier :)

ports:

I like the Optical drive slot being on the side. The few times I ever used the bay on my MBP it was on my lap and I had to shuffle the machine and myself around since the slot was front facing. Side facing is nice.

The ports being on a single side is nice. Previously it seemed like there was little rhyme or reason to where ports were on mac laptops. I kinda wish they were on the right since, most of us are righties, corded mice (I know, so 2002) have to go around. Oh well. My main gripe with the ports, is the closeness, they’re almost on top of each other! the two USB ports are so close that anything that isn’t a USB cable, requires an extender if you plan on using the other port. My new Sprint broadband device, is thin enough to work with the Macbook Air, but too wide. USB drives, too wide. So sadly a USB hub or extension cable is required. I carry both in my bag now.

Screen:

Glossy is ass! I don’t know what Steve and company are thinking. They obviously never leave the mothership and see daylight, or have a conference room with windows. My Air has a glossy, and now the MB, so I’m essentially stuck to one side of our main conference room. Sitting with my back to our windows, out of the question. I have noticed that cranking the brightness up all the way helps to counter act the daylight (Yeah I’m a day walker, but I can’t help it), of course that also gives me a good 38 minutes of battery life… Call Col. Carter! I’m hoping to find a matte screen cover, kinda like a privacy filter, but with out the privacy, since I don’t care about that, really.

Trackpad:

It’s alright. It sounded revolutionary when Steve talked about it, but really it’s just a track pad. I find myself messing it up, since for years I’ve rested my thumb on the place the button would be, but now that’s part of the trackpad, so it whigs out once in a while.

I haven’t figured out a consistent or useful use for 3 and 4 fingered gestures. I’ve tried to use it for expose, no good, since it seems to catch the gesture only 3 out of 4 times. So other than having more drag room, it’s not really doing anything for me.

So overall

I really like the new macbook, it’s got more power than my MBP so all things being equal it’s better, and the too close USB ports, are an annoyance at best. I’ve been doing a lot of video editing for work, and it’s handled it all like a champ. It’s a good machine, I give it 3 snaps in Z formation.

Tags: Apple, Macbook

iPhone app – get your music on! Ocarina

I probably played a total of 6 hours of any Legend of Zelda game, evar. But Ocarina for the iPhone is damn fun! Fun isn’t really the right word, since Ocarina isn’t a game, it’s a social music…. experiment? App? Experience?

You’ll just have to try it out.

The app has two modes. musical instrument mode (play the Ocarina) and listen mode, (listen to others play their Ocarina).

Both modes are absolutely incredible. In make music mode, you blow into the mic of your iPhone, you hear the music out the speaker. The UI is 4 buttuns, pressing any combination of them, is the same as covering the holes on a flute.

The music is rather eerie, to me at least, almost like a durge, but also kinda mesmorizing, I could probably just sit it on my desk an listen while I work.

The visual representation of listening to the music is simply awesome. Rather than just a stic indicator of where the person you’re listening to is, you actually ’see’ their music. These cool green rings, and blue spirals, leave the location of the person playing, and shoot off past you into space.

Don’t like what the person is playing, jump to another person.

What amazes me, is that this is one of those apps that you think, “How many people will be using it, when i want to listen?” thinking there’ll be one dot at

any given time. That couldn’t be farther from the reality, I fired it up right before writing this post to screen shot it, and just look at how many people were playing their Ocarina on a Sunday around noon MST.  Each dot is an Ocarina being played, truly a world symphony.

Apps like Ocarina really reveal the social power of the iPhone. Sure we can calculate our split of the bill at a dinner party, we can tweet, we can manage our netflix queue, etc, but how cool is it that we can make AND share music with no infrastructure requirements beyond the internet. Hearing the music someone on the opposite side of the planet is making, while sitting at their desk or on their couch.

I don’t know who Pacman186 is, but their music was nice, and I enjoyed being able to listen.

Tags: Apple, iPhone

Earthscape for iPhone, Boulder Denver New Tech Meetup

Tuesday (election day) was a busy one; it was the last day of Defrag ‘08, was election day, and was also a denver meeting of the Boulder Denver new tech meetup.

After Defrag Rob, Adam, Fraser and I spent some time in the bar in the lobby of the Hyatt, talking about twitter, glue, communities, etc. One of the best conversations I’ve had in a while.

After a few drinks, we caught the last two presentations at the meetup. One was a phone thing, that I didn’t quite understand, since we missed probably the first 2 minutes of the 5 alotted per company. We did see all of Earthscape(iTunes Link).

Think google earth, with community photo sharing. it’s pretty cool, and easy to use, photo’s appear as you pan through the map.

There’s two view modes; pan mode (looking straight down on the map), and 3D mode (right there to the right).  Both modes are very fluid and easy on the eyes. Initially I was worried that the graphics would kinda suck, but I had to admit Earthscape (and google earth, since it looks like Earthscape uses google earth) has very good graphics. Looking down on my house, it’s funny to see how old some of Google’s images are. I think I can see straight into the 2nd story of the town home, since there’s no roof.

users can, of course comment on photos, you can see all photo’s from a specific user, etc. You can even see Wikipedia entries, which is really cool! It’s cool to see the pictures people are taking of the places they are. Sure it’s a touch voyeuristic, but that’s human nature, and one of the under pinnings of social media :)

The blue circle thing, that’s my house in the middle, I was watching “The Happening” on Amazon unbox. Good flick.

You can see in this pic that some of the map doesn’t always un-blur. At first I thought I had glaucoma, but realized that some times the maps just don’t fully rez.

It’s a free app, I DL’ed it right there in the meetup, and took my first pic of it’s creator talking about it.

iPhone app aside, I’m definitely hooked on the new tech meetup. I don’t know if it is always Boulder, and the “Denver” part is name only, though I suspect that’s the case. Definitely worth the 20 minute drive into Boulder.

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Mac

The Story of the Macbook pro with bad wireless

My Macbook Pro is first generation. Core Duo, no 2.

It’s a great machine, still a work horse, but the wireless card doesn’t work. Never has. When I got the machine, we didn’t have wireless in the house, so I never used it, there were network drops in every room, and hub in the living room. I first noticed the wiress trouble at a conference; I’d connect but the connection would drop, or I’d never see the network my friend in the next seat could see, and connect to. I then bought a sprint card, so wireless was un necessary, EVDO to the rescue.

Early on I swapped out the Super Drive for a second hard drive, from MCE. 160GB drive, trumps a rarely used DVD drive.

Jump forward two years, i’m at EUI, my work laptop on one side, my MBP on the other, one on the network, going strong, the other (guess which) getting not more than a blip of connectivity.

I decide that since I’ve got the Macbook Air, I can be with out my MBP for a few days, so off to the Cherry Creek Apple Store for my Genius appointment.

Mac Genius FTL

Right away he can see that there’s something odd with the machine, identifying the second drive right away, impressive. He can see that the airport isn’t working, that’s good. He goes back and talks to his boss, and returns to tell me, that since the Optibay had changed the electronic signature of the machine, he could never guarantee it was 100% back to working when giving it back.  LAME. He suggests I return to the Mac Outlet, where I had the Optibay installed. They’re Apple Authorized so it’d still be under warranty (I have an AppleCare contract).

Since it took longer than promised to install the drive, I wasn’t looking forward to going back to Mac Outlet. I fired off an email, letting them know what the deal was and got a reply letting me know they could do the work, and that they were looking at a 3 day turn around.

I drop it off on a Wednesday around 1pm, confirming with the guy at the counter, 3 days.

I Call on Saturday, it’s still about 15 machines back in line, Ok, no problem, depending on your count Saturday might not be day three. I call back on Tuesday, it’s about 4 machines back. GRRR ok lame.

I call back Wednesday around the middle of the day, “It’s on the tech’s bench right now” so I leave him a voicemail, letting him know if it ain’t gonna be fixed, I’ll need to take it unfixed. The MB Air is great, but it’s not the machine for compiling (is that the right term) iMovie projects. Plus the single USB port makes doing stuff at home a PITA when I need my iTunes portable drive, etc, etc.

He calls back Wednesday night about an hour before they close to tell me it was the Airport card and that it’s ready for pick up. I go in Thursday morning to pick it up, right when they open.

No payment needed, it’s a warranty repair so I grab my trusty MBP and head to the office.

I get there, fire it up, connect to the wireless network, Nada. same bad connection, as a week ago. LAME.

Not only did my expectations as a consumer not get managed, but my problem wasn’t solved. Now I’ve got to have a friend at the office, pull the second drive out, replace the old Super drive, just so I can go back to the Apple Store, and have them fix it, or send it to the Depot. Joy.

Apple store Service for the loss :(

Tags: Apple, Macbook

Well of course there’s an Apple Tax!

CNet Interviewed Brad Brooks, and in that interview he says that Mac buyers pay an “Apple Tax”

DUH

Apple owners have long known about the Apple Tax, we joke about, nothing new Brad! He seems to think we (Apple product owners) think that Apple really pays 500 dollars to build each 16gb iPhone, and 2500 dollars for each Mac Pro. We don’t!

You’re not going to get things like Microsoft Outlook, you’re not going to get the games that you’re used to playing. There’s a technology tax–Apple still doesn’t have HDMI, doesn’t have Blu-ray offerings, doesn’t have e-SATA external disk drives that work at twice the speed of FireWire. And so you’ve got all of these things that are truly taxes.

We don’t want Outlook Brad, It’s a crappy app. He seems to attribute a lack of choice, to being a lack of choice in M$ apps. That’s hardly the case. Aside of a good SQL Server client, there’s nothing I miss from my PC days. Entourage is as crappy as outlook, so nothing there. Mail.app suffices, but hello, Gmail with IMAP anyone? Why have a landlocked desktop mail client? Sure it’d be nice to have blue ray options, but mmm not a deal breaker. I mean when I travel I’ve got iTouch, iPhone, and iTunes to watch video in, why waste Battery spinning a drive to watch a movie? e-SATA? what for? THere’s plenty of Firewire and USB options, why have one more? One more port to get gunk in it, one more thing to buy to keep up with the ever changing PC landscape.

Brooks: You know, I think it’s a good point. I think the question is, though, do customers really know what they’re getting into? I don’t personally believe that customers really know that a copy of Parallels is going to cost them $80, or that when they really look at what they’re going to have to pay in terms of another $200 for a (full boxed copy of Windows), that they’re going to pay for another $149 for MobileMe to put on there, Internet services, which they can basically get all the same functionality when they have Windows and Windows Live working together.

Brooks also thinks consumers are stupid. I’m not sure what Windows Live is, but Mobile Me is optional and a vast majority don’t use it. I do, because I have three macs and want my data all in one place. There’s cheaper options, but Mobile Me is baked in so the integration is nice.

Those who need VMware or Parallels, etc need Windowz for work for the most part, so the casual Mac owner, won’t ever pay that “Tax”. Every Mac buyer doesn’t buy a copy of VMware or Parallels, most are looking to leave Windows behind and not look back.

A funny statement:

Just the fact that we’re having this long of a conversation about Apple, it seems to reflect a shift in Microsoft’s thinking that Apple is more of a threat on the PC side. I mean, how do you guys view Apple in terms of a competitive threat on the desktop?
Brooks: The conversations that we’re having really started back around our partner conference in early July. And I came out and said, right there onstage in front of tens of thousands of partners, “we’re drawing a line in the sand.”

A line that many are running as fast as they can right up to, stepping over, and never looking back.

I won’t keep posting tidbits, of M$ non sense, read the entire article.  I want to get back to my point. Yes there’s an Apple Tax. I paid it when I bought my Macbook Pro, that is now three years old and not likely to be replaced any time soon. Where as my wife’s Inspiron is in dire need of either a re install from all the Crapware (wait, crapware on a PC? No way according to Brad, oh wait, she’s XP), or just a new machine. My iPod Photo, still running, the Apple Tax I paid nearly 7 years ago, well earned in my opintion. I wonder if a Zune will last that long…?

However to insinuate there’s no Windows Tax is just plain silly. Sure it’s not paid on the hardware Windows runs on, that’d be the Dell Tax. It’s paid in time lost rebooting, waiting for outlook to load, waiting for the wireless network to figure itself out and get working, waiting for the newest 20+ software updates to download. It’s also paid in having to run Anti Virus software, having to re install the OS every 6 months to a year just to get some performance. For Vista users, it’s my understanding (thanks to Tom) that it’s paid in waiting for it to reboot after you put it to sleep or changed wireless networks.

There’s a Windows Tax, to be sure, to say otherwise is plain disengenuous. Brad is no doubt your typical mud slinging marketing wonk, but really, CNN why waste time even talking to him? Especially when it’s clear he thinks the reason Apple is doing so well is that consumers are stupid and un aware of the choices they’re making. Brad, I hate to break it to you, but we know, and we’re ok with it.

And it is not a question of whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with the experience, it’s a question of whether they really know what they’re getting into when they choose to embark upon that path.

To close another funny. Brad might not be the best person for interviews since even Ina picked up on it.

Is there risk in the way you guys are doing this that some of the messaging sounds like “you, the consumer, just don’t get it?”
Brooks: That’s far from the message that I want to deliver.

Bummer Brad, that’s the message you did deliver.

Tags: Apple, CNET, Mac, Steve Jobs

Great Steve thinks we all want to look at ourselves while we code

Apples new gear is pretty neat, mostly.

I dig the track pad thing, even though gestures are pretty much limited to Apples’ own products. The 4 finger thing might be cool for espose, etc.. The instant on LED backlight will definitely be a nice touch!

The glossy screen, SUCKS. Damnit Apple! why can’t you leave well enough alone? Why do do you think we want laptop screens that are useless? I can’t use my macbook air in well lit rooms, like our main conference room, the reflection pretty much blocks out the screen. I mean look at the pic from Engagdet, you can see the guy taking the picture for crying out loud!

I do dig the keyboard, I’ve gotten very used to the contrast on the keys, though they stick out like a sore thumb amid all that shiny aluminium. But the gray keys, with the lights on underneath hard sometimes hard to see.

Over all this wasn’t a completely lame announcement but I don’t think I’ll be running out to buy a new latop just yet. My current MBP is doing just fine, and since I don’t game, at. all. the fancy new video chips don’t do a thing for me, sorry.

I’m glad Apple has standardized on yet another display plug type, so when I do get a new machine, if I have any of my old ones, I’ll need to carry yet another adapter, yippy skippy!

I certainly am not looking forward to having two tanning mirrors on my desk in a bright room :(

Tags: Apple, Macbook, Steve Jobs

Macbook Touch, I’d buy it!

Yeah I know, I know. I’d buy most things mac. True. Except the new headphones, or the new Nano. I never bought the old nano, this one doesn’t do much for me either.

However, a Macbook Touch? I’ve always shied away from the touch PCs mainly because, well they’re PCs. And a pen input machine isn’t interesting. A mac however, no pen, iPhone interface, soft keyboard. Oh hellz yeah!

Image courtesy of Giz

I can totally see myself using a device like that. My Macbook AIR does most of the duty now, even at work, when I go to meetings, the AIR goes. the 17inch MBP stays on the desk.

But when perched on a chair, a clamshell lappy, sometimes isn’t he easiest to use. Something similar in weight and size to the AIR, but with a nice 14-15 inch iPhone screen.

mmmmmmmmmmm, Macbook Touch. To quote Homer (the Simpson, not the greek writer)

Supposedly, Oct 14th will be Macbook Touch day. We’ll see. I’m not holding my breath. We (consumers) haven’t been crying for a tablet long enough. It seems that Steve likes to poo poo our wants for at least a year or two, then decide the idea is the greatest ever and he’s a visionary for having it. We might have a little longer to wait.

Tags: Apple, Macbook