March 7th, 2008
Well holy shit, it looks like we’ve all been carrying around 80% of a Macintosh in our pockets for half a year.
The Apple SDK for the iPhone exposes nearly all the guts of the system, as well as sophisticated integration with other apps, OS components, and hardware. Apple claims that my cell phone and my laptop are using the same kernel. (I guess we knew this but it’s nice to hear it from the horse’s mouth).
The jailbreakers will have their work cut out to compete.
The first “blessed” 3rd party iPhone app I’d like to see in June is a streaming MP3 player. I’d like to listen to DirtyRadio and my stack of various NPR stations whenever I’m bathed in WiFi microwaves. (Or, dare I dream, even an EDGE connection?). Based on what I’ve seen, this is plainly no challenge at all to someone competent to write any kind of media player. (by which I mean basically connect a network socket to an audio buffer and then go have a drink)
But Fuck! You could get fancy and use the iPhone to triangulate your geographical position and then present a list of regionally appropriate streaming radio stations. You could then animate an old-time tuning dial and probably even fade each one into the other with static overlaid in between. Literally you can do this on a god damn cell phone. Apple has videos explaining each component. You can go nuts!
The second app I’d like to see, I’ll try to write myself. Nothing too extraordinary but I’d find it useful about twice a week. It might even be easier to do as a web app, but I will endeavor to continue my Obj-C edumacation.
And have I missed something or is the Interface Builder half of this iPhone SDK still “Coming Soon”?
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January 16th, 2008
The MacBook Air gives the Air Jordan a run for its money, huh?
I think we found the new laptop for a mister D. Woo unless he’s already gotten one. The Communists will be nothing but impressed by the way it hides its girth beneath its sightlines.
Although there’s not much girth there. Lithium Polymer batteries, nonexistent permanent storage, and a pliable chip manufacturer have made this Mac the closest to an iPod yet. If it succeeds (well even if it doesn’t) it’s the best endorsement yet for a switch to Intel chips. Not only did Intel deliver custom (although probably eventually widespread) miniaturized packaging for the Core 2 Duo, you probably couldn’t even fit a 4 year old G4 in this little bastard. Nevermind the chips IBM produces to burn up XBoxes.
MacBook Air may be the first Mac since 2000 to lack a FireWire port, but you have to go back farther to lack an ethernet port. And what’s the last Mac that didn’t have a CD drive? I know our SE/30 didn’t. History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
MBA is the first Mac ever to lack any kind of removable storage.
Rumors just prior to the announcement wondered if “Something In The Air” (as the MacWorld banners proclaimed) meant a device that was always connected, like an iPhone or a Kindle. I’m glad the various pundits haven’t thrown up too much of a stink that this isn’t the case. It might be nice to build a notebook computer with constant roaming cell-network internet access. Someday. But this is too much of a burden on a new product today. WiFi is everywhere. Who wants to pay a monthly bill after buying a $1800 laptop. And hell any Mac can pair with a Bluetooth phone that will let it share a network (not the iPhone), or a MacBook Pro can have an EVDO or HDSPA card shoved in its left side.
… If the forthcoming iPhone SDK makes it possible to run a proxy server on the phone again, that will solve the problem too …
Frankly I’m not too worried. I’m only growing to love my iPhone more.
The EDGE internet access around where I live is quite pokey. And since with the new update, the iPhone thinks I live a mile south of reality, that might indicate where the nearest cell phone tower is.
But lately I’ve been spending a lot more time in Downtown Austin, and the iPhone’s EDGE network speeds are surprisingly much faster there. Today I even watched some of the Guided Tours of the new products on my iPhone in a sandwich shop without WiFi. Sure they were the lower bitrate movies Apple was careful to provide, but honestly I think they sacrificed more on sound than video. As long as I’m paying $20/month for unlimited data, I might as well be using it more, eh?
Maybe I’m behind the times, and people who complain about the iPhone are those thirsting for even harder and faster wireless internet. But I’m just appreciating what I’ve got, and realizing I’m only beginning to use my iPhone to its full potential.
Today I reordered my icons, added a web page to the home screen, and dropped a pin in the map. MacWorld 2008’s best product is from a year ago. And it keeps getting better.
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October 19th, 2007
I got iPhone #3 today since iPhone #2 had a bad Home button. Exchanged with no fuss once again at the Apple Store.
My original iPhone was built in week 26 of 2007. My first replacement was built in week 39 and my new replacement in week 40. This is based my obscure and unique knowledge of how to read an Apple finished-goods serial number.
I got to thinking about Apple part numbers and serial numbers. Did you want to know more about something basically meaningless than you ever thought you could? Week 40 sounds pretty recent but how recent is that? I suppose divided by 4 (weeks in a month) it’s roughly early October.
My math has been off recently because Holland spilled on the numeric keypad and put the operator keys back in the wrong place.
As for my new iPhone, seems to work well and it’s much less scuffed around the front-facing chrome. My old rubber case trapped grit in there and rubbed it. I have realized not to use a case with an iPhone.
Of course now I have a probably — but maybe not — refurbished model. But with a new case and (allegedly) new battery, I guess that’s ok. If some guy had to return his iPhone the first week with a bad headphone jack then I suppose I don’t mind if I have his screen now, although I wonder who he was and where he enjoyed his multi-touching.
I’ve always wondered if they ship the bad iPods/iPhones back to China from California to be remanufactured. Perhaps they do. On the other hand, if it’s such a rush maybe they do it in California?
Do any of my enormous lot of viewers have an iPhone serial number that starts with 5K?
Refurbished computers are sufficiently zombie-like for this Halloween season.
Swapping a SIM is a brain transplant (except not really since it’s not the real brain). But what would Apple have done if Verizon wanted to be their buddy instead of Cingular?
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September 28th, 2007
Here’s another advantage to iPhone software 1.1.1. It works much better with my iPod HiFi.
It still displays the warning about being attached to an accessory not guaranteed to work with an iPhone. I think this is kind of bogus because the HiFi seems shielded enough that it never broadcasts the GPRS interference that other speakers do.
But where in the past I would have to dock the iPhone, unplug it, and dock again for the HiFi to coordinate its volume controls and sometimes even to play the iPhone’s music, now it’s all good on the first try. More improvements you can’t get with an AppTapp Installer.
But maybe I should get this.
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September 27th, 2007
Will I ever be a good iPhone typist?
I don’t type on it all that much. Mostly for web addresses and quick emails or text messages. It’s easy to do, but it still feels hard in my mind. Like I have an aversion to it.
The other day we were at Ikea and Holland wanted some bookshelf.
Well you probably know how Ikea works.
I had a moment where I looked at the paper and pencil in my hand, and (x-ray-like) at the iPhone in my pocket, and I wrote down “Lundvarm White Row 18 Bin 24″ or something on the paper.
Typing on a Qwerty Keyboard (and for a few experimental months in college, a Dvorak keyboard) is as easy as talking, and easier than writing longhand. But did I want to break out the iPhone’s much neglected NotePad for this task? Easier than the T9 input on my old LG phone, but Ikea gave me a free pencil and paper too.
I can type pretty fast on the iPhone. I think the main impediment is it’s quite slippery. I used a rubbery case for a while but it just scuffed up the chrome rim and got stretched out. Now I use no case and I use iPod “docks” for the first time ever. That’s a good thing.
Would you choose to type on an iPhone rather than write? or talk? or qwerty-it-up? (that’s the verb for that)
I did use my iPhone later to find Ikea was selling a certain bookshelf in other stores that they weren’t selling in ours. When we went to ask the clerk about it, he started looking at the same site I had loaded on my phone. That’s Ok, I said.
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September 27th, 2007
If your iPhone update goes awry, just be careful not to be crazy.
Sure we all feel crazy every now and again, but usually some soothing music or beverage can cure that.
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September 27th, 2007
I like how several of the security fixes in the new iPhone software update have to do with spoofing phone numbers being called. There’s some novelty to it.
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September 27th, 2007
My iPhone update to 1.1.1 went fine even though I had a zillion 3rd party apps installed. Of course they’re no longer there. In fact the original “update” did fail and I had to do the “Restore” process. (a process that involves clicking the other button)
Not everyone can have such good luck. My dad’s iPhone, which took 3 days to activate back in June, is apparently dead. I hope he didn’t get accused of hacking it. It sounds like he’ll be able to get it replaced or fixed for free.
One thing to remember with iPhone updates — import all your pictures before you start! I’m glad I did this time.
As many 3rd party apps as I had, I don’t know if I’ll miss any of them. At least not right away. They were mostly for show and for fun. The voicenotes app might have been useful but I never actually used it. I thought the most potentially useful app was “iLight”, which turns the screen to white so you can use it as a bad flashlight (I could have used that in the NYC subway 4 years ago) but then I realized you can accomplish the same thing with a blank Safari screen.
It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the new system to be cracked. Can it be made un-crackable?
The other existential question is should one just wait? Stick it out with software 1.02? Keep using your old apps?
I opted not to. Why live in the past? There are many improvements and security updates with the new software and at least at this point I would rather some new Apple iPhone software than all the hacker software in the world. The home button double tap is worth it alone.
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September 14th, 2007
I don’t get to the Apple Store as often as I used to, but I dropped Holland off a couple days ago and lingered to play with the new iPods. The new wide nano and the Classic.
They didn’t much hold my attention.
I have a 2GB silver nano for running with the Nike business and I recently lost my 60GB video iPod (lost as in it doesn’t work no more and now maybe American Express has it, or maybe they don’t. And maybe they research on the web, so that’s all I’ll say about it).
But despite the advances in screens, sizes, and a slightly different interface — which was leaked in like July and is a little nicer, but a lot slower — the machines didn’t inspire any techno-lust in me.
I know techno-lust when I feel it, but predicting it can be hard. For example, I thought I would really lust after the new nano. Of course in the store the size of the headphone attachments and security devices are starting to dwarf the device itself. I never realized how cool the old nano’s were until I was holding them in my hand in the back of the store, preparing returns for re-sale. Maybe I need one of the new triscuit-nano’s loose in my hand to understand it.
Anyway just now I saw these unboxing pictures of a new iPod Touch.
Here comes the techno-lust again. This thing is amazing.
That’s an iPhone on the left and some sort of 3rd or 4th gen iPod on the right
Here’s an iPhone and iPod touch side by side. Jeebus.
And I already have an iPhone! I’ve had an iPhone for 2.5 months! Why do I like this thing?
I don’t know. But it’s so thin, so shiny, perfect, so beautiful. If it does almost every non-phone thing an iPhone does, that’s just amazing. I know it will amaze so many more people than will ever see an iPhone (if only because it’ll sell in dozens of countries and we’re not even to 2 countries yet with the iPhone).
You start to realize back in 2003 when the first Dock-Connector iPods came out, Steve Jobs pronounced that someday iPods would be *as thin* as this dock connector cable. People probably laughed. Today the iPod touch is that thin, and the new nano is thinner than the cable it ships with.
I’m all for competition, but I think the Zune is ruined.
Where, by the way, is my movie-watching stand?
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September 13th, 2007
Well the iTunes Ringtone Store is live.
But I will be damned if I’ll ever pay for a ring tone.
Here are two articles about it. I don’t know what’s going on but as long as people keep talking about it, we’ll make progress
DaringFireball: The Ringtones Racket
Roughlydrafted: Apple’s Ringtones and Copyright Law
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