iPods, Touch Screens and the Future

With the release of the 2.0 software update for the Touch, Apple has made a mockery of every smartphone on the market as well as the DS and the PSP.

Short of an iPhone, it is quite simply the indispensable gadget to have on you at all times.

I have no Exchange servers to connect to and haven’t tried MobileMe. But I have been in the App Store. And boy, have been buying.

I’m a Crash Bandicoot fan from the dark old days of the PS1, so the first game I got was Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart Racing 3D. And it does not disappoint. The tilt controllers make it a compelling game, as well as a challenging one. And one you will strive to master. Just play it standing still as the tilt sensors are sensitive. 

iPint is hilarious. For a free app its brilliant. I’ve been generating laughs with it all weekend.

I installed DutchTab as well. Thought I’d get a chance to use it over the weekend, but it didn’t present itself. Calculating how to split the tab is difficult so I usually don’t bother, just leave an unusually large tip. This should change that.

However, not all the applications in App Store are iTouch compatible. GPS and Camera apps naturally will only work on an iPhone.

This makes the iPhone 3G a really compelling device to get.

There has been lots of discussion over on FriendFeed about how this changes the nature of personal computing ( see here, here and here for a selection). The basic idea is that it changes personal computing in a big way.

I’d also say that the idea of ubiquitous computing comes closer as well. With a device like the iPod Touch and the iPhone, we take computing power where ever we need it – it seamlessly integrates with our lives. We take the web with us as well, fulfilling the dream of constantly connected devices. Push email is not  a new idea – Blackberry owners have had it for years. But Apple had taken it to a whole new level. Using the touch screen, ur interactions with our devices become so much more natural and compelling. A keyboard and mouse reminds you of what you are using, a touch screen uses the human mediums of touch, feel and gestures to communicate.

This is where computing is going in the next few years. I prefer using my Touch for web browsing because of the touch screen – its feels more natural. Windows & will have touch screen built in, and Microsoft Surface is already capitalising on the naturalness of the touch screen to re-definite the way we interact with computers – and redefine computers themselves.

As science fiction writer William Gibson said:

The future is here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet

WWDC - To iPhone or Not?

via Michael Gartenberg

Need I say more??

iPod Touch Week One

I’ve been listening to music too much and posting too little .

The iPod Touch ( I prefer calling it the iTouch) is really good. Some songs come out sounding  better than they do on my speakers on the PC (Ok, not the best available speakers - JBL Creature).

The web browser is really really good. The whole JavaScript thing doesn’t work ( which you would expect since it is a full version of Safari, I belive). I mean what on earth were Apple thinking??? How many websites do  you  know of that don’t have Javascript???? I use it all the time in developing websites. Even if it’s not for visual stuff, java script can be doing a lot of heavy lifting in the background ( take, dare I say it, Facebook Beacon).

Looking at Google Reader in Classic mode is an experience somewhere between being eaten alive and having an out-of-body-experience of the event - can’t decide which is worse.  Trying to type and send an email in GoogleMail ( I tried), I found a strong urge to became a Chinese Citizen ( even the Great Firewall of China doesn’t stop Javascript) . And by the way, I did finish the email and used by PC to find the addresses to send it to.

Though the Mobile mode is much, much better. I think its specially formatted for the iPhone/iTouch.

Viewing websites that don’t run on JavaScript or gracefully handled the fact that Javascript was off was pretty good. I think the lack of Javascript was one of the main reasons that Youtube is a separate application on the iTouch.

Don’t even get me started on Flash support…

The integration with iTunes direct from the iTouch is a gift from heaven itself, from His Steveness to his faithful Apple flock

Change that to an iTouch Comic and it would be perfect.

Youtube works seamlessly as well.

Now, the Syncing experience is something else. If I plug my iPod into my laptop instead of my PC ( keeping in mind I originally used my PC to Sync the iTouch), I get asked if I want to erase my iTouch and sync new music to it. Now my library is exclusively ripped CD’s that I’ve bought myself. Shouldn’t iTunes recognize that I already have music from the library ( both my laptop and PC use the same iTunes library out of a shared network location on my server) and shouldn’t it allow me to add, change or delete the playlists/music on my iTouch???

Now if there was a way to sync shared  library music (i.e from iTunes running over the server and sharing its library) to my iPod, there wouldn’t be this problem ( if there is, please post a comment. Thanks). 

Podcast subscriptions work great. Already subscribed to Scott Hanselmann.

Can’t complain about anything else. the design is great. the interface is supurb. Take how the screen gently coasts to a stop when you’ve finished scrolling. The whole flipping thing is really great. I’m getting used to it and its quite responsive when you know what to do.

My mother was using it quite well with out even being told what to do. She still asks me about emails.

Can’t wait for the SDK to come out. I’m assuming that the iPhone SDK is also for the iTouch. Can’t wait till I can say: “Pimp my iTouch”.

Dear Steve:

We hold these truths to be self-evidently pie in the sky, that all bloggers are created equal, that they are endowed by their Computers and iPhones with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are lots and lots of Links, [JavaScript, Flash] and the pursuit of AdSense Dollars

Ken Newsome

PS added in the bit about Javascript and Flash myself.

I Went Out and Bought One - iPod Touch

Does Steve Jobs have knack for designing things, or is it just me????

After ranting an raving here and else where about how I’d never buy an iPod unless DRM was sorted out, guess what? I Went Out and Bought One.

The Glasgow Apple Store is quite something. I was really impressed since I’d never been to an Apple store.  All the customer space is given over to Display models. There were iPhone between each iMac, MacBook, Apple TV, etc. The only retail items on display, as far as I could tell, were the iPod/iPhone accessories and the software. To get anything you ask one of the assistants who will get it for you from the back of the store. this works really well since it allows customers to focus on the devices. You can see Apple Design throughout the store.  

And I still can’t belive the sheer size of the 24″ iMac. It literally defies belief. I’ll put it this way, getting out of the store is far harder than getting in to it.

Picked up some earphones to go over my ears rather than inside them ( I can’t stand the standard earphones). And the guy got my iTouch. Purchasing was painless. The place felt like Steve himself had trained the staff and approved the decor.

And now my iTouch is charging after registering with iTunes. The one thing that really got me was that you can’t use it out-of-the-box. You need have an Internet connected PC running the latest version of iTunes and you can use it only after you  have registered it.

Since my library is mainly WMA files and stored on my Windows Home Server, I installed iTunes on the server and set it to work re-encoding my library and putting it in a dedicated iTunes shared folder. Fortunately I only have about 2000 songs so its not a lot *(Mind you, iTunes seems to have made it mind up that there are only 791 songs in said library. Hmmmm) . Its been running an hour and done nearly 400 songs, so a few hours and then I can sync music to  my iPod Touch.

Setting up Wi-Fi was painless insofar as I needed to change my key to make it slightly easer to type on the iPod because of the keyboard. The keyboard isn’t bad at all. In fact its a lot better that I  thought it was after reading various blogs on the subject. You can very easily hit the wrong key the first few times that you use it, but it quickly grows on you, and you get better and better at using it.

I’m impressed at the minimal  packaging of the iPod. The earphones had more by at least an order of magnitude.

The other thing is I strongly suggest you get a case. It looks rather fragile in the sense that it can be easily scratched. So I’m picking that up next week from said Apple Store.

All hail his Steveness……

Quote of the Day

Windows for Mobiles is certainly better than Windows for PCs or, God help us all, Vista, but it is still an insulting offering.

-Stephen Fry, in his first blog post - ever. He’s reviewing iPhone killers

iPhone Price Cut - Economics at Work

I just stumbled upon this article in Reason Magazine ( be sure to read the rest of the article):

Sure, it’s good economics—even if it’s bad PR, Apple did manage to sell 1 million iPhones in 74 days-but is it fair? Is it just? To find out, we need look no farther than question posed by rubber bracelets everywhere: WWJD? Not What Would Jobs Do?, of course, since we already know: he’d give in to the whiners and offer $100 credits good for Apple products in the future.

The parable of the workers in the vineyard is the Bible’s final word on this point, and takes a much harder line than Steve Jobs. Jesus tells the story of a group of workers looking for employment. A few are hired in the morning for one denarius. As the day drags on, more and more workers were hired, with the last batch brought to the field only at the eleventh hour. Then it comes time to cash out:

The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?”

As one writer put it: “if you’re still upset about ‘paying too much’ for your iPhone, take it up with the man upstairs.”

Or maybe this is all just an extraordinarily elaborate PR strategy after all. Consider a customer we’ll call “Katherine.” She would never wait in line for a gadget. She’s just not quite geeky/status-seeky enough. And she doesn’t track consumer electronics prices, nor does she browse in Best Buy or the Apple store for fun. But thanks to the hullabaloo about the price drop, she now knows that Apple phones are “cheap.” Hard to imagine the fact would have penetrated her consciousness so quickly or so thoroughly as it has without a controversy to reinforce the message.

Perhaps Steve Jobs did have the parable of the workers in the vineyard in mind after all. After all, the tale wraps up with that famous phrase, certainly applicable to iPhone prices today: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

More on the iPhone price cut

Need I say more?

Cheering up the Original iPhone Owners

Fake Steve Jobs made me laugh out loud:

Well, we’ve got a plan to restore some of that magic you felt on Day One. No, not a $200 rebate. And no, we’re not going to let you return the phone or cancel your plan with AT&T. But here’s what we’re going to do. It’s a sticker. Bring in your receipt to any Apple store or AT&T store and show that you paid full price for your iPhone, and we’ll give you a sticker that says, “Original iPhone.” Very small, very classy, black on black, made of super high quality plastic with a glossy finish. Something you’ll be proud to put on your iPhone so everyone will know that you’re not just any iPhone user; you’re one of the super smart, super cool early adopters who paid full price. You see? We’ve got you covered. I know what you want to tell me. What can I say? You’re welcome. I love you too. And you are special. I mean it.

One problem. They’re not buying it. They’re stalking el Jobso:

Damn. Last night they were out there holding a candlelight vigil and singing “We Shall Overcome.” To hell with it. I’m calling the police.

iPhone Accelerometer Tricks

Another iPhone story landed in Google Reader (via TUAW):

today, we’ve got hot off the press news about what they’re up to with the iPhone’s accelerometer. Erling has found a way to pull the raw data off of the iPhone’s LIS302DL, a 3-axis accelerometer that’s currently used for noting when you’re looking at Safari vertically or horizontally. A few hackers, like the folks behind Tilt, have been able to catch the iPhone noting the change itself, but this is the first time, I believe, that we’re seeing live data come right off of the unit at a high sampling rate, enabling Erling to pull off the magic seen above.

 

Source code is available here.

PodTech:iPhone: What We Know, What We Don\’t Know

I Quote:

From iPhoneDevCamp, this presentation by Christopher Allen (slides available). Christopher covers the various aspects of using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, different media formats, and then the human interaction methods to keep in mind when developing for the iPhone. Also, check out the community site iPhoneWebDev.