Category Archives: Web/Tech
Some Quick Thoughts on the App Store
A few quick thoughts on the new Mac App Store which Apple released today.
1. Just because it detects an installed app doesn’t mean Apple will now handle upgrades. Basically unless you bought it through them they don’t do anything. The Mac App Store also tends to detect demos as installed software.
2. The “new iWorks” is actually the old one. Don’t buy it. (Yes in the App Store screenshot iWork 11 was listed) I was quite annoyed by this. Presumably there were bugs keeping it from being ready. Given all the limitations with Numbers right now and the long delay for an iWork upgrade I was really hoping it’d be ready.
3. Thinking of ordering from the App Store? Consider taxes. Apple charges them. Amazon and most direct downloads don’t. Here that’s 6.5% although some states are higher. That can add up.
4. Man there is a lot of crap. Maybe it’s my imagination but it seems like far more than the iOS app store.
Disjointed Thoughts From Christmas Morning
As I sit in with an exhaustion headache trying to vainly take a nap a few things came to me. Maybe you’ll learn from my mistakes. Maybe not. Maybe you’ll throw in your own exhausted wisdom.
1. You know that toy you got so cheap on black friday? The race track that was less than 1/3 the price of a new one? Guess what. It’s a cheap Chinese knock off and there’s a reason they could sell it so cheap. Yes, they still are making a profit. (Cue demonic voice from Evil Dead 2: “Dead by dawn! Dead by dawn!”) I should have learned after I got that $1000 scooter that seemed like such a good deal. It was great the first year and then started to break down every few weeks. Every time I’d go into the shop I’d find out some part was amazingly substandard. Eventually I just gave up repairing it.
Lesson? It’s better a few expensive quality toys than a bunch of cheaper ones. (Note: this isn’t a knock against China. After all the high quality stuff is probably made there too – my iPhone was after all)
Do You Ping?
So. Do you Ping?
Ping is Apple’s new music social media service integrated into iTunes. The new version of iTunes, version 10, has been controversial to say the least. It made a number of pointless and arguably counterproductive UI features like making most of the icons grey. Want to fix the appearance? Check out this post of mine.
Anyway, on to Ping.
What Does That Even Mean? LOL edition
Earlier today, CNN.com published an article called “Three of the web’s most awkward phrases” and counted #, @, and LOL as the top offenders. The arguments for these being difficult to translate into non-Internet conversational speak are generally persuasive, but the inclusion of LOL reminded me of a problem I’ve been vexed with for ages: Funny Hierarchies.
I’ve been confused for several years now about exactly how one indicates a humorous reaction in the online world–especially in IM conversations. This is complicated by the fact that a) not all funny things are equally funny, and b) most people use multiple forms of laugh-indicators in online conversations, and I’m never sure as to their relative magnitudes.
Sometimes it’s easy: It’s certainly reasonable to assume that LOL > lol, and that ROTFLMAO > LOL. However, what about Haha vs. HaHa? Or LOL vs. Hehe? How about a double (Heh Heh) against grammatically improper variants like lolz and Haaahahahhha? I have come to believe that most of the humor indicators have some hierarchy in our respective minds, but I don’t think that these rankings are consistent across individuals.
Anyway, here is my far-from exhaustive Funny Hierarchy. Read the rest of this entry
Flash mob amazingness
A group of around 1,000 gathered in Seattle yesterday and danced to music from the TV show, GLEE.
Unfortunately embedding is disabled for the video, but you can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5PyIVVKoWU
Definitely worth watching. More videos from other locations around Seattle are coming soon.
What other flash mob videos have grabbed your eye? I love the Internet.
The Business of Music
Hey! Your tape. lt´s good.
I know. We made it.Â
I  mean, it´s rough, but, unbelievably, it shows promise. I’ll put out your record. Any profits we split down the middle after I recoup expenses, okay?
Recoup expenses? Man, you´re gonna recoup a big, fat Mercedes is what you´re gonna do.We´re not there yet, Justin.I’m Vince.Whatever.
                                                     -High Fidelity
Â
The brave new world of the music business just gave us another interesting peek behind the curtain through this open letter from the band OK Go. Read the rest of this entry
The Catchall TV Thread
OK, it’s been a few weeks since we had a general TV thread. So I figured I’d put one up. Feel free to chime in about how you think the TV season is going; shows that the rest of us ought be watching; and what you dislike.
My thoughts.
I’ve got a $1 store credit burning a hole in my pocket
So I pre-ordered a CD recently, and as a bonus Amazon gave me a $1 credit for an mp3 download. I’m a big fan of Amazon’s music store. Not being an Apple person, and as someone who has always viewed iTunes as annoying bloatware, Amazon is a wonderful alternative. They were offering high-quality, non-DRM mp3s long before Apple finally gave in.
So now I’m looking for suggestions. What should I download? What mp3 would you bring onto a desert island with you, assuming you had the world’s smallest mp3 player and an unlimited supply of batteries? What song gets stuck in your head for weeks at a time without bothering you?
Help me out here people. This store credit isn’t going to be around forever.
(Want your own free song from Amazon? Go here. Thanks to Slickdeals.)
Snow Leopard: Yeah or Nay?
So Apple’s Snow Leopard comes out tomorrow. I had mine pre-ordered via Amazon but they are only shipping starting Friday. Which means I’d have got it on Tuesday. So I cancelled the order and will pick it up from the local Apple shop.
This is an upgrade without the “gee whiz” features of previous editions. It’s mainly cleaning things up, making things faster and smaller, and eliminating the beachball of terror that crops up in many apps. (Finder and Safari, I’m looking at you)
xGPS for the iPhone
(Crossposted to Clark’s Tech Blog)
A short review of the xGPS. As I mentioned in my Jailbreak post this is one of the best reasons to jailbreak your iPhone. While my posts on jailbreaking make it seem like Linux at it’s worst, that’s more because I’m interested in doing some useful scripting of the phone. Few would want to do that. However if you simply want some “unauthorized” apps that could never make it past Apple’s draconian AppStore rules then jailbreaking is a great idea. You basically download an application, plug in your phone, and click a button. You then click a button on your phone and suddenly you have a second app store. In there you’ll find xGPS in a prominent location and it’s easy to get running. Nothing technical about it really.
First let me talk about my comparison. I’ve used Google Maps on the iPhone for a year to run around. Then last fall I bought G-Map US West for a trip to the Bay Area (since there is little internet coverage in the Nevada desert and because AT&T coverage is only slightly better in San Francisco). The big news this week was Tom Tom’s release. I’ve not used it and can’t imagine paying $100 for it. However I’ve read many reviews.
