InterApp Copy for the iPhone
August 20th, 2008
~Jon
…this is technically against our blog rules, but we’ve been out of the spotlight for a while, so this will give you diehards something to read at least.
iPhone killer my ass
August 11th, 2008
I’m sick and tired of all of these “iPhone Killer” articles. This article on Wired.com is utter crap. DO NOT use the words “iPhone Killer” if in the same article you say that the cost of the phone ($500) could buy two iPhones, that the screen is wide but not wide enough to watch a movie, AND THEN show a picture of phone that has a zillion buttons. Maybe the author has never held an iPhone in their hands. If they had, they might have noticed a phone with a gloriously intuitive touchscreen interface that IS NOT running Symbian OS. Since there is no physical keyboard to take up space, the iPhone’s wide screen is awesome for movie watching and of course at $199 the 8GB version is less than half the cost of the Nokia (with a 2 year contract of course). Now, you would think that a tech type publication like Wired would also know that a camera with more megapixels doesn’t always mean better image quality. Yup, the 2.0 megapixel camera on the iPhone is crap, but not because it’s 2.0 megapixels. So, saying that 3.2 megapixels is better and then saying IN THE SAME ARTICLE that the “3.2-megapixel camera’s optics could be better” is, well, crap. Yes the Nokia E71 does a lot of the same things the iPhone does, GPS, WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, blah blah friggin blah. Bottom line, the iPhone 3G has great hardware but it got the nickname “Jesus Phone” because it combines that great hardware with the best software in the business and until another company can match that… the iPhone cannot be “killed”.
One last thing. This is the line that triggered this rant… “Textured stainless steel backing prevents slippage” Are you fucking kidding me? THAT IS NOT A FEATURE PEOPLE! The combination of the glossy back on the iPhone and my sweaty hands is what keeps my iPhone from fallin in the toilet, not textured stainless. Hell, I don’t even consider that a feature!
The Nokia E71 might very well be a nice phone, it is pretty shiny after all, but an iPhone killer? Puh-lease.
~Brad
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You really need to start picking articles that I can disagree with. As you know I own an iPhone (wife’s) and at work I use a Blackberry 8830. I know that the iPhone isn’t there yet as far as exchange integration goes (an article for a later time), but as far as multimedia goes and ease of use, its the best on the market. For those of you living in the 20th century who are not using iTunes as your media player, you many not be as impressed by the iPhone, but still impressed by its many other features. We are going to Europe for a few weeks and we’re loading up the iPhone with movies to watch on the way over (In flight movies suck from time to time, and in the 20+ times I’ve crossed the Atlantic I’ve only been on the neato plane that allows you to pick your own movie just one time). The keyboard on the iPhone is a little tricky to get used to, but if you think it is difficult then you should try to use the BlackBerry. The 8830’s keypad looks exactly like the iPhone Killer’s keypad. I’m just over 6′1″ and have normal sized hands I believe. I think a lot of people have larger hands than I do… I can hardly hit the keys on the pad. I think the pad was made for people with tiny hands or who like to wear out the backspace key.
About the camera section… that is total BS. Everyone knows that more MP does not equal a better camera. Otherwise we’d all be buying the POS $99 special that is 10MP… but we instead all buy the Canon/Olympus/etc 6MP camera that somehow takes better pictures.
As far as the phrase “iPhone Killer”, I have two words… App Store.
~Jon
Apple’s MobileMe Web Apps don’t use HTTPS
July 28th, 2008
UPDATED 4:40 PM CST 29 July
A commenter pointed out that since the MobileMe web application is an AJAX based website that maybe the asynchronous calls for data are being made over SSL. He had a very valid point and we had not verified this information prior to making the post and I said we’d check into it. What I found was that we were half right. The short version is that initial login information and all of the pages that contain personal information such as billing information, passwords, credit card info, etc. are all SSL encrypted. However, everything else is NOT encrypted. Reading and editing email for instance is not encrypted. The following is the entire chat transcript between myself and a very helpful Apple Support operator, Jean:
To read our original post click there —> Continue reading this entry »
WordPress app for the iPhone
July 23rd, 2008
I’ve had my iPhone 3G for about a week now. By far its best “feature” is the app store and currently my new favorite (and most useful so far) app is the WordPress app. How useful is it? Well I’m writing this post on my iPhone… at work… on the crapper…
~Brad
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I normally just play bricks on my BlackBerry while on the crapper… I wish I could be as efficient as you, Brad.
~Jon
Windows 7 Multi-touch Display… So what.
July 15th, 2008
I’m typing this post on a laptop. If it was a multi-touch screen with no physical keyboard or trackpad, it would suck ass to type. I have a desktop at work with dual 20 inch LCD’s. If I had to reach out with both hands to touch those screens to do my work… you guessed it… suck ass. Now I suppose that I could utilize my fancy new multi-touch technology as well as a physical keyboard to type on but then… why the hell would I pay the undoubtedly expensive new-fancy-feature-tax when surely a mouse to go along with my keyboard would be cheaper?
Yes, the next version of Windows will certainly have more new features than just multi-touch display support, but because it’s one of the first features they’ve talked about I’m also quite sure that it’s going to be one of the main features. I’ll admit that multi-touch displays are cool, and practical even… on a handheld device such as a smartphone (iPhone, duh) or even a tablet pc or something like that. But for a full blown desktop or laptop? I think hardware makers will have to change their designs to make use of the technology.
Here’s my main gripe though: Vista is so bloated that most people who did buy it had to buy new hardware just to run it. Vista itself is expensive. Couple those two together and that’s a pretty pricey “upgrade”. If Windows 7 is too multi-touch reliant you’ll have to buy new hardware again just to use it plus you’ll surely have to pay a hefty new-fancy-feature-tax… again.
It’s too early to know how much the next version of Windows will cost and what features you’ll actually get but hopefully Vista isn’t the new trend with the software giant.
~Brad
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I have almost zero use to reach out from my keyboard to do anything other than grab my mouse or my cup of coffee. I wear a headset, so I don’t even go too far to answer the phone. I’m not lazy, but I believe that efficiency is very important when working at my desk. I personally like using a laptop because the mouse is so close and for most applications I can do things quicker than with a conventional mouse, although I use a mouse exclusively for making drawings. That being said, I think that the 1.5 ft reach to my 2 20in monitors is a complete waste. I’m not sure what use I, or almost anyone else, would have for a multi-touch display. Tablet PC’s have more or less fallen flat as no real office user has much use for them. So I’m baffled as to why this feature would have much hype attached to it at all. I know little about the new feature, and it may have some uses, but I’m having a hard time thinking of how I could speed up checking email, making drawings, typing, or any other daily task by using a touch display.
I think that MS could spend a good bit more time removing the bloat, improve efficiency and reliability, and actually make a product that could compete with… Apple? It’ll never happen, but until I have a choice of the OS that I can use at work I’ll keep rooting for MS to get their act together. The day that I can place a Mac on my desk at work is the day that I no longer care what MS does… short of continuing to bloat up exchange and other products that I do not see going away any time soon.
~Jon