Broken Record

I’ll say it again and again, but I am getting fed up with all these manufacturers all claiming that their tablet will be an iPad beater. Yet they are comparing as usual their offerings to the current model of the iPad.

They did the wise thing last year and waited for Apple to release the iPad before releasing the models that they previewed at CES. But Apple surprised them then not with just what the iPad was but in the thing that killed off most of the offerings in having a $400 version of the iPad. Everyone had been planning on the rumoured price point of between $800 - $1000. When Apple came well under that they killed off a lot of the competition who just weren’t able to compete.

The $400 iPad also forced Amazon to drop the price of the Kindle. Which was a positive move for the Kindle as sales of it have increased since. If it had remained at it’s previous price it would of died from the competition of the iPad.

Now we have RIM with their vapourware that has been delayed from the planned launch of early next year because they have technical issues with the battery life. Apparently it isn’t very good, and doesn’t compare very well with the current iPad battery life (10 hours on the wifi model). And as I have pointed out all their rhetoric has been to compare their vapourware (which no one has had hands on with, and now we know why) with the current iPad. By the time the RIM offering hits the streets iPad2 will be imminent or will have just come out.

That’s a dangerous game to play for a manufacturer to launch in the shadow of an Apple product release. Look how well that worked out for Palm with the Pre (we will over look the under powered hardware). 

Samsung tried to distinguish their tablet from the iPad rather well I thought. They made the screen smaller (7”) so it was more portable, and gave it cameras (which apparently aren’t that great). But then they go screw it all up in the pricing and letting mobile operators control it. The Tab is more expensive than the iPad and you get tied up with a two year contract!! Yes I know that UK mobile companies are now doing similar deals on the iPad, but the iPad initial cost is cheaper than that of the Tab.

I think that the wise manufacturer should stop comparing their unreleased product with the current iPad. I’d even go so far as to stop mentioning the iPad all together in relation to their product. How about just concentrating on what your tablet will do well, and why I should buy it, instead of trying to compare it to a moving target.

iPhone Development

Well over on my main blog (whitespider1066.com) there is a semi development diary for an iPhone app I am writing going on. The app I am writing is for lovers of the outdoors, and will allow them to fetch the mountain weather reports that are produced for hill walkers and also the avalanche warnings that are also given into one place instead of having to visit a couple of sites and hunt the information down.

I try not to get too techie on there, well I know it is being read by none techie folks.

This iPhone app is my first and a learning experience. My references during this learning curve are “iPhone Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide”, and “Programming in Objective-C 2.0”. But along with the printed written word, I am using the Winter and Autumn 2010 Stanford iPhone Programming lectures from iTunes U, and the Apple Developer documents (which I download as pdf’s to refer to later offline).

I really can’t praise Stanford University enough though for putting up the lectures that they do. They are a fantastic resource for learning from.

Now I have to say that I am enjoying the coding (it’s nice to be doing it for fun again, but that’s another story). I have ideas and notes for a couple of further apps. And I will start them once I have released this first project. Not decided which will be the first yet.

Merry Christmas

Well the subject line says it all really. I want to wish the readers of this blog, many who are also friends and family (who will also have to put up with this message in several formats) a very very Merry Christmas.

I hope you all have a great day, that Santa has bought you lots of goodies, and that your time with loved ones is stress and argument free.

The mutts and I will be out later braving the cold and remembering departed friends and companions as we stroll round. Then we will pig out and quaff liquids in vast quantities until we are fit to bursting, followed by trying to burst ourselves with chocolates and other snacky bits while watching some movies and playing video games.

Have a great day folks.


-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 4.

Thinking Aloud (again)

Knocked this up in Interface Builder after seeing a tweet yesterday and a brief follow up email exchange with the person that did the tweet.



At the moment no code is behind the various buttons.
However knocking up the look has enabled me to get how I want it to work in my head.
But if my Christmas project goes to plan you'll get some regular updates showing the progress.
At the moment the prospective app has the catchy name of mwaaw. It's an abbreviation of what it will do. Which I will reveal more of in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime I'll leave you puzzled and confused as to what the app will do.

-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 4.

The iPhones First Break Out Game

No one has done this yet but I'm declaring Angry Birds the very first big breakout iPhone game.
So what do I mean by breakout game? Well a title that started life exclusively on a platform that becomes so popular it is known by users of other systems, it gets ported to those systems and is just as popular on them to. Plus it has lots of spin offs to, like toys and cartoons etc.
Angry Birds is that game on the iPhone. Since it's release it has become massive. So massive that Microsoft felt when launching Windows Mobile 7 they had to show in advertising that they too would have Angry Birds available for it (later to be withdrawn when pointed out by the developer it wouldn't be).
You can buy Angry Bird plush toys, fans have made cakes, there are plans for a cartoon, and there is even going to be a world wide Angry Birds day on the 11th December.
No other iPhone game has managed to capture the imaginations of others like this.
In fact we could be witnessing the birth of a new classic character following in the footsteps of other greats like Mario, Pacman etc.
Yes I think Angry Birds has become that big and popular already.
Now I don't know much if anything about the developer Rovio. But I love the fact that a small developer (I'm assuming they are compared to EA etc) has come up with such a massive hit, while the likes of EA, Capcom, Activision etc are struggling to make an impact on the mobile platforms.
Well done Rovio, thanks for a great game and you deserve the success.


-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 4.

My Current Favourite iPhone Games

Just a quick post showing which iPhone games currently are my favourites.

As the screen shot of my favourite games folder shows they are mostly what would be classed as "casual games".

These are the games I keep coming back to, the majority of them support the Apple Gamecenter ( the iPhone version of Xbox Live - but free).

At the moment the two I'm playing the most are Angry Birds Seasons (Christmas update just came out - despite the false information to the otherwise given out by Leo Laporte on this weeks TWiG), and Zombieville USA.

So what are your current favourite iPhone games?

-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 4.

KinTweet the movie

Ok not exactly but it is a video done by Jamie (@raegar on Twitter) showing off the rather amazing Kindle web app he wrote called KinTweet.

My Thoughts On The Blackberry Playbook and Ipad Comparison Video

I’ve embedded the new video from Blackberry comparing the (yet unreleased) Playbook (their vapourware slate, well until it is in the shops it is not really real) to the iPad.

Now these videos are interesting to me for a couple of reasons. The first is that it gives us a sneak peak at what may be coming our way. But it doesn’t really give us any really useful comparison between the two devices. Basically what we are seeing in the video is a comparison between a prototype and a version of the iPad that will no longer be valid by the time a final version of the prototype hits the shelves.

And that is the point, already the iPad has moved on to version 4.2.1 of iOS4, by the time the Playbook hits the shelves of stores the iPad will be on it’s second hardware iteration.

Now I don’t know what the spec of the next iPad will be. All we do know is that it will be better spec’d than the current iPads. Maybe faster processor, more operating RAM, front facing camera, who knows? I can only speculate, or try and make logical guesses.

Why do I call the Playbook in the video a prototype? Well it can’t be a final production model, or it would be out in the shops. So Blackberry must be doing some final bits and pieces to the Playbook. Even at the launch, sorry announcement of the intent to release the Playbook no one could get a hands on. Which would imply that it isn’t at the moment in a usable state to let press and public get their hands on it.

And between now and when the Playbook finally hits the shelves things can change dramatically in what was shown and what is released.

So while interesting I’ll wait until I can see a true comparison between the two competing devices of final off the shelf products. Until then take these sort of videos with a pinch of salt.

KinTweet – A Kindle Twitter Client

A bit of disclosure to start with, I don’t have a Kindle (yet) and I am good friends with the author of Kintweet Jamie Myland. In fact we work at the same place, in the same place, and totally just talk geeky stuff in our spare time.

Now with that out of the way I want to tell you about this great web app for the Kindle called by KinTweet.

So some of you Kindle owners out there are thinking “how do I access the web on my Kindle to get to KinTweet?” Well if you look in the experimental area of your Kindle (I love that they have something like this) you will find a basic web browser.

Using this “”experimental” basic web browser navigate to http://www.kintweet.com . Now using your Twitter id, login to Twitter approve the apps access to Twitter via your account, and away you go using Twitter.

Now unlike Twitter clients on other platforms the resources available on the Kindle are even more restrictive. So what functionality Jamie has been able to include is truly remarkable.

Take a look at the main menu on the left and you will see the functionality that has been implemented. It’s most of the things you would want from a Twitter client. Plus instead of struggling with the little cursor pad thingy (for want of a better description), you can also use keyboard short cuts to get fast access to the options.

If I remember correctly so far Jamie has taken maybe 4 or 5 weeks to write this in his spare time. So what we have here is a great web app Twitter client for the Kindle, that shows some amazing UI design for a limited resource.

Here are some more screen grabs from a little session I had using KinTweet on Jamie’s Kindle.

Don’t forget that if you have the 3G version of the Kindle 3, then your web browsing is free. Which means so is your tweeting using http://www.kintweet.com . And best of all KinTweet is also free.

It’s been great seeing this develop over the weeks, and a joy to see Jamie show off the new functionality he has added. Plus I get to have a play with KinTweet when I am shown it.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Non Contract Price Announced And Still The Android Fan Boy Is Silent

As the following two tweets show



The Samsung Galaxy Tab now has a contract free price.
I feel it appropriate to write about this after yesterdays blog post.
It carries on the theme about how little criticism these non Apple companies get.
Here we clearly have a tablet aimed at the iPad market. Which has been crippled already by not allowing VOIP on it in the US, and until today only going to be available on contract.
Then we get such an expensive non contract price, it makes the iPad look amazing value.
But where are the Android fan boys? Their silence is almost deafening.


-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 4.

Are The Carriers And Handset Manufacturers Peeing All Over Googles Android Dreams? Or 6 Reasons Not To Use Android

You know what I am fed up with is those that dish it out but can’t take it back. One particular group like this in the tech world are the Android/Google Fan Boy. Oh the Google Fan Boy likes to dish it out to us Apple Fan Boys, they love to do nothing better than to point out Apple’s faults while ignoring the plank in their own eye.

For instance if Apple were doing half the things that the carriers and hand set manufacturers of Android phones are doing then they would be in an up roar, gathering as a mob with torches and pitch forks, and burning effigies of Steve Jobs outside of the Apple offices. At the front leading the baying mob would be the technorati like Mike Arrington declaring Jobs as Satan.

• Want Skype on your Android phone? That has been sewn up in exclusive deals with one or two carriers.
• Are you in the US and want VOIP on your Samsung Galaxy tablet? Forget it that has been disabled.
• Want an wifi only Samsung Galaxy tablet, or not to be saddled with yet another 24 month 3G contract? Sorry no can do. The Samsung Galaxy tablet will be only available view mobile phone carriers with a contract.
• How about bloat ware that you don’t want and will never use? Welcome back to the good old days of before Apple. The carriers and manufacturers love this, they get control back and can put on any crap they like and you can’t do anything about it.
• Want your Android OS update when Google release it? Tough the carriers control when you get it once the handset manufacturer releases it to them. And this has meant that users are not getting the update for months after it has been released.
• Want the latest Android OS update at all? Well carriers and manufacturers are even denying it to relatively new handsets, wanting users to upgrade to a new handset and contract to get the latest version of Android, despite the handset being more than good enough to run it.

Now yes the last three points can get round by installing a ‘vanilla’ version of Android on the phone, and the process of doing this means that you would void your warranty. But is this any different from  the jailbreaking that iPhone users do?

But you will notice that this is all down to the carriers and the handset manufacturers. I like Android and what it represents. Sadly I believe that the vision/dream that Google had, has been diluted and corrupted.

Yet if Apple had done any of the above there would be flames and hate flooding the interweb. But for whatever reason those same people seem ever so silent that it is happening with the Android platform. They are letting the carriers and handset manufacturers get away with murder.

Let’s start shining the flood light on these creeps and protecting the dream.

Meet Swordy

Today saw the start of a new journey for me. A new journey that will see me learning new things, and thus proving an old dog can learn new tricks.

A friend is teaching me to program in C# (C Sharp) and how to write games using the XNA framework for the Xbox 360.

So sitting in the Costa Coffee franchise at work like true geeks we sat with coffee’s (or in my case tea) and out laptop and netbooks having a hands on introduction to games programming.

It was in this initial session that I came up with what I am convince will become a classic video game character of the 21st Century Swordy. Swordy was created out of necessity of needing a sprite to move around the screen when a direction arrow is pressed.

But in true video game tradition Swordy needed a nemesis, and so in an equally rushed drawing I came up with a badly drawn ghost from Pacman as Swordy’s nemesis.

In our little hack-a-thon (if you can call a session of hogging the comfy seats in the coffee shop for just over an hour of geekiness a hack-a-thon) the enemy homed in on Swordy. Which when moving Swordy around the screen gave an almost Robotron like feel to the basic program being developed. If you remember in the classic game Robotron the enemies homed in on the players character. And to get this AI (if you can even call it AI) is an amazingly simple bit of code. Which I give the extract for below:

foreach (character e in enemy)
{
    e.update(gameTime);
    if (e.getpos().X < swordy.getpos().X)
    {
        e.movex(1);
    }
    if (e.getpos().X > swordy.getpos().X)
    {
        e.movex(-1);
    }
    if (e.getpos().Y < swordy.getpos().Y)
    {
        e.movey(1);
    }
    if (e.getpos().Y > swordy.getpos().Y)
    {
        e.movey(-1);
    }

}

Basically for each enemy we compare it’s position to that of Swordy and move the enemy closer towards Swordy. Which as I said has the effect on screen of making it look like the enemies are homing in on Swordy.

Anyway that makes it look like I know what I am talking about, which I don’t. I’m just impressed (easily I know) with how well the Robotron homing enemy effect looks with such simple code. The whole area of enemy AI is a complicated one and has evolved over the years, to which point in modern big budget games the AI can be pretty sophisticated.

Anyway that about sums up todays lesson, I’m looking forward to next weeks now.

First Impressions Of The Galaxy S

Last weekend I had to take my middle son back to uni. It was during the trip that I got to see his new mobile, which was a Samsung Galaxy S, a member of the Google Android phone family.

The phone itself is bigger in size than the iPhone 4 that I have, but feels lighter in the hand.

My son showed me it recording video, which looked good on the screen. And I have to say the the oled screen looks good. Well when it is not viewed in direct sunlight. Then the screen is unreadable, it appears blank!!!

My son tried to use the Google Navigation app to guide us to his new house he was renting. But for some reason the GPS just didn’t seem to work, and failed to lock on to any signal to get its position. However I put this down to the fact that the phone had literally zero power left, so was not able to power the GPS part.

Over all from the short period that I had with the phone, and my discussions with my son about it, I have to say I do like the Galaxy S. It is a nice phone, and if I had a chance to buy an android phone then this would be a strong contender to see me part with my cash.

Steve Martin And His iPad

I heard about this a couple of weeks a go on the iPad Today show over on TWiT.tv. It’s a funny little routine between numbers by Steve Martin at one of his Bluegrass concerts.

I’m a big fan of the early Steve Martin, let’s face it his track record on movies since about Roxanne time has been a bit below standard for such a great talent. But at least his efforts haven’t been as dire as Eddie Murphy’s. But I digress this blog is about tech, and here is a Bank Holiday afternoon funny for you to enjoy with a geek slant to it.

Wishing Upon A Star

I need a benefactor. I believe they used to be all the fashion back in the day of Yates and co.

A benefactor would be most useful indeed, but sadly they are more rare than an honest MP these days.

I have a list of a couple of bits of kit I would like to get that would allow me to expand the coverage of stuff I have on this blog and my main one (whitespider1066.com) , plus be useful in a new blog project I am planning to start up in the next couple of weeks and my day to day work.

So what are these items of desire that I would find useful?

Well the first is the object of desire for many an Apple Fanboy (oh yes I am one of them, I drink from Steve Jobs Kool Aid), the iPad. Several of the outdoor mapping companies have released iOS4 (ie iPhone) apps. Some have even released versions that run specifically for the iPad. Plus with outdoors publishers also starting to dip their toes in the electronic book world, there is enough going on in the iPad world that needs covering. Let alone talking about how the iPad can be used in the education sector, or for photography. So this is a very very exciting product to look at, and want to cover. No one is covering it on an outdoors context at the moment. I would love to be the first. But I know that I will be piped on that front.

The second is a Google Android phone, like the Desire,Nexus One or Droid X. Yes I know how can I be an Apple Fanboy and still want one of these? But that fact aside, to be able to also talk about relevant apps on Android as well as iOS4 would be great. It’s another area that no one seems to be covering in the outdoors, and to be able to cover it’s usage along side the iPhone will just add more value to the information I can offer when I talk mobiles in the outdoors. My posterous account would be rebranded to be mobile photography blog, and be the home of photos taken on the iPhone 4 and the Google Android phone

There is a third, but this is totally blue sky dreaming, and that is a dSLR camera, and a selection of lenses. I’d love to get to grips with one of these and see what directions it would take my photography.

But in reality I know there aren’t benefactors out there these days for bloggers. We have to fund our own purchases and if we can’t afford the kit that we want then we go without. What we have here is wishful thinking. A nice day dream.

Some bloggers are lucky (for want of a better way of describing it,)  and able to get an income from their blog that can either cover their costs or even luckier enable them to buy new gear as and when they like.

I know I don’t carry adverts on my blogs, well the amounts I would earn would be miniscule. This blog for example is the equivalent of plankton in a sea of tech blogs. The reason I write it is because it gives me an outlet for my tech ramblings when I have something to to say on the subject that just isn’t outdoors related.

And although my main blog has significantly more readers than this blog, still there are no ads on there. Compare to some of the more popular subject areas or magazine backed blogs my main blog still has a relatively small readership.

But truth be told I have not really been interested in having ads on my blogs, as I like to give ad free content. I also like to give free content. Yes I am one of those internet types. For me I get my kick out of others enjoying and getting a use out of the stuff I write or have photographed.

Sadly this utopian point of view doesn’t put food on the plate and keep a roof over the head as I was reminded during my two year spell of being unemployed.

But this charging for content , and people consuming it for free is an age old problem, in a favourite book of mine The Autobiography of a Supertramp by W.H. Davies, he writes in the 1923 Foreward to the book “…I have come to the conclusion that if only one quater of my readers had been buyers instead of borrowers, I would now be worth half a street, perhaps a castle,island, or a full-masted ship.”

A very good friend of mine who has been a journalist and publisher for decades, who I admire and respect greatly, often asks me “and how much did I get paid for that post?”

I will always keep my content free, because it’s something I believe in deeply. I like the sharing. There has been toying with the idea of a tip jar, but then I think would it be worth the effort? Would people be generous and tip, or would I be sympathising with W.H. Davies?

In the absence of a benefactor or a lottery win, I will have to think creatively, scrimp and save to get the items mentioned above. If in the meantime others start covering these areas then so be it. I will enjoy reading their coverage, which will inspire and give me further ideas for my own coverage when it starts.

My iPhone Photography Workflow

I was asked about what apps I use on the iPhone for photography, so I decided to write this little post to describe my workflow when taking a photo on the iPhone.

The majority of time I start with the iPhone Camera app. Sometimes depending on what I am photographing I will use another app for the photo. But nine times out of ten I will use the camera app.

With panoramas if I have time to take a panorama I will use Panoramatic to take it, if I want to capture something as a panorama that requires speed to capture (ie like a rainbow) I will use the camera app and then use autostitch to generate the panorama. Which allows me to get a quick and dirty check. If I'm not happy I can retake, or if the moment has gone use Panoramtic which often gives better results.
If I want to get "arty" on the panorama I use See This!

For occassions that I want to capture an action scene I use Gorillacam that has a three photo burst mode.

Just recently I have added TrueHDR to handle the times when there is extreme shadow or light.

So now I have a photo(s) sitting in the Camera Roll of my iPhone. This is where I start to use iPhone apps to enhance the picture taken.But first using the Photos app I review what I have shot and make mental notes of which ones I am going to edit.

Generally my first app I pass a photo through is Photogene, here I usually crop the image, and use the colour correction if need be, before saving the image back to the Camera Roll.

If the photo is noisey I will pass it through NoiseBlaster to try and improve it.

Next I may pass the photo through a tilt shift app, my preference at the moment is TiltShift, although if I'm not happy with the results I will try TiltShiftGen.

Then it is down to what filters I want to apply to the photo. This is such a personal thing. The filters I use the most are the ones that come in the Best Camera app, followed by Camera+.
But I use other apps to get some effects I like. For example I will use ColorSplash, or the HDR in 3in1Filters (although the HDR is available as a seperate free download).
But other apps I have in the tool box are ToonPaint,PicSketchPro,Diptic,LensFlare,Mill Colour and Collage.
The Nikon L&E is a great free app (from the US iTunes app store) that gives photography advice.

The only drawback of working this way is that you get multiple versions of the same photo sitting in your Camera Roll. It shows your thought process, and acts as a back up, which is a good thing, but you do need to clear out regularly.
Here is a couple of screen shots showing the current apps I use.






You can see some of the photos I have taken with the iPhone here on Posterous or my SoFoBoMo 2010 project, or these over on whitespider1066.com A Virtual Exhibition and Misty Morning A Photo Post. Well they are the ones I am proud of and willing to tell the world of ;)

Some posts on whitespider1066.com that you may want to look at as well looking at one or two of the apps in more detail: "You Gotta See This","Panoramatic 360" and "Autostitch".

More Apps That I have On My iPhone

As promised in the last post I'm starting this one off with the games I have on my iPhone.
























And finally apps I have not got a label for.



-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 4.

Some of the iPhone apps I have installed

Just a quick post of some screen grabs showing some if the apps I have on my iPhone. No games in this post, I'll do games in the next post.



































-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 4.

Why I'm Using Posterous Over Flickr

So recently I did this photography project over on whitespider1066 using the camera on my iPhone.
I set up a page in wordpress and used that like a micro blog to record the photos that I took along with some text relevant to the photos.
As I said all the photos where taken on an iPhone (initially a 3G and at the end a 4), with any processing also done souly on the iPhone.
After completing the project I liked the idea of having a photo blog. But where to host it? I wanted it separate from my main blog. After all that is a blog about the outdoors, although there may be some cross over on the photos.
I could of housed the photos on flickr, I have a free account there. However I have reached the limits of the free account, and the cost of the pro account was out of my grasp.
So I needed a free alternative, and after listening to a recent net@nite I was reminded of an online service called Posterous.
Now Posterous does more than I am using it for. All I am using it for is as an online gallery for photos I take with my iPhone.
But visitors can leave comments, subscribe to the site using RSS. I can create picture albums easily, and the iPhone app allows me to upload photos simply.
Basically everything I needed PLUS it can update my social networks. So when a new post goes up my twitter account is updated with a link and also my Facebook account.
So some useful functionality there, plus it's free and no restrictions (as far as I can tell) on number of photos it will allow me to post there.
So that is why I'm using Posterous over Flickr for hosting my photo blog.

-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 4.

Leo’s Basic Mistake

I hate all this my smartphone is better than yours playground arguments that go on in the comments of blogs and websites over which is better Android or iOS4. I have an iPhone and I love it. I’m sure if I had an Android phone I would love that as well. I’d like both, but the limiting factor of money gets in the way. We all can’t be Leo Laporte or Robert Scoble and have multiple phones.

But mentioning Leo reminds me of one thing that really does annoy me at the moment about him when I listen to his podcasts. That one thing is that when they discuss the iPad sales since launch, and the factoid of 3 million iPads sold in the 3 month peroid since launch. Leo always chips in with the following, “yeah but Android phones are selling 160,000 a day.” Which is totally irrelevant. Leo is comparing apples with pears. It doesn’t matter how many Android phones are sold, they are PHONES!!!! How can you compare phone sales against those of a completely different device type? I am really shocked that Leo keeps repeating this basic mistake across all his podcasts when discussing the iPad sales. If they were discussing iPhone sales like the recent stat of 1.7 million iPhone 4’s sold in 3 days, then yes his Android fact would be relevant. But not when talking iPad. Come on Leo wise up and stop making yourself look foolish.

I suppose what is even worse is the guests he has on the shows don’t pick him up on this. They just nod and agree with him like mindless puppets. I thought these guests were meant to be the good and the great of the IT scene, intelligent commentators and the technorati. Yet not once have they said “hey hang on their Leo, how is that relevant to iPad sales?” Not that great and intelligent then are they?

Oh well I suppose it could be worse, Leo could have a nobody like me on his show, pretending they know it all, and that they have great indepth thoughts on the subject matter.

It’s like my other bitch about Leo and his technorati club and their moaning about Apple refusing to let Google’s official Google Voice app on to the iPhone. At the time it was a none issue in the US and outside. Why? I’m glad you asked, and let me tell you. Back then it only affected a very very small minority of users out there. Google voice was invite only, and only available in the US. Not an issue for 99.9% of the iPhone using population. (I made that percentage up, just to illustrate how small a number I think were bothered by it.) But now in the last week Google has opened Google Voice up to anyone (as long as they are in the US). So now it has become (potentially) more of a relevant issue. And I expect that there will be more pressure from within the US for Apple to approve the Google Voice app now if it gets resubmitted. Still for those of US outside the US it is still a non issue.

iPhone 4 Day

Well it’s new iPhone day for the lucky few countries that are getting it today. On twitter news broke early of queues starting up outside the O2 stores around the country. Hundreds at the O2 store in London, 80 plus at the Farnborough store, over 100 at the Southampton store. Well you get the picture. Stories were also circulating that supply would also be extremely limited. I read that some stores had no more that 6 in stock. So it was obvious that some folks would be going home disappointed this morning. Conspiracy theorists where saying that the short fall was a deliberate tactic from Apple to generate the queues for publicity purposes.

O2 had stated there initial stock was being reserved for existing customers. So no queue outside from an early hour to get my hands on an iPhone 4 today. My queuing was a brief on hold at 8am when the O2 phone lines opened. I already knew what I wanted, so the process was pretty smooth. Being an Apple Fanboy I already knew more about what O2 were offering than the person handling my call. Finances dictated that I could only get the iPhone 4 16GB model which will have to do. Maybe next year I will be in a better position to get the higher capacity iPhone.

I still need to confirm the wifi data restrictions I thought that O2 had a cap, but the person I ordered my new iPhone from said that it was unlimited. So a difference of opinion there within O2.

UPDATE: Just checked the O2 website and it shows that the wifi is unlimited which I can live with as the other providers are even capping this usage. [link to O2 iPhone 4 Tariffs]

Ok I have to wait an extra day before getting my iPhone 4, but hey calling O2 at 8am was better than having to get up at silly-o-clock to be early in line to sand a chance to walk away with one today.

So now tomorrow can’t come fast enough, for that is when the delviery has been promised. Tonight will be spent preparing and backing up my iPhone 3G so I am ready for getting the iPhone 4 up and running as quick as possible.

My old iPhone has been promised to my son Nath. I have been hearing that a lot of iPhone 3G and 3GS users are experiencing problems updating their phones to iOS4. When I did it the other day (day of release) I had no problems, I set the upgrade off when I went to bed, and woke up with a nicely upgraded 3G running iOS4.

Meanwhile Elsewhere

Over on whitespider1066 I have a couple of posts looking at developments in the mobile phone market place. I’ve done them over there because there was some cross over, and these developments have huge implications for the use of the technology in the outdoors world.

The most recent post entitled “Capped” discusses how the newly introduced data caps from the likes of O2 and Vodaphone will impact the use of smart phones in the outdoors.

In a post called “iPhone Mapping Software Updates Out” I look, well list using screen captures the latest updates to a couple of app updates on the iPhone that use OS map data. At the end of the post I briefly look at the new iOS4 update that is arriving imminently on the iPhone.

Now one of the things that really does get my blood boiling is when companies just don’t get it when it comes to social media, or the use of IT. Sadly there are many companies in the outdoors industry that fall in to this net. It’s only because I care that the it gets to me so. And that is where I am coming from in the ironically titled post “Another Good Call From Cicerone”.

While I’m here I should mention that I am learning to program the iPhone (admittedly slowly, I am trying to help get the new whitespider towers ready for moving into as well). So at some point I will do a post or two about my learning experience.

iTunes U – iTunes Dirty Little Secret

I don’t care what your opinions of Apple or iTunes are, one thing you can’t deny is that there is some pretty good content on iTunes. Whether that is music, podcasts,movies or iPhone/iPad apps. But one thing that gets so often over looked by iTunes users and others is the little promoted iTunes U.

iTunes U is a section on iTunes where education establishments from all over the world put up course materials that can be accessed by anyone. This content whether it is audio or video can be downloaded to a PC/Mac or iPod,iPhone,iPad, well you get the idea.

Apple describes it as “a powerful distribution system for everything from lectures to language lessons, films to labs, audiobooks to tours — is an innovative way to get educational content into the hands of students.”

Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

I’m currently using iTunes U myself to do an iPhone development course by Stanford University in the US of A. In iTunes U Stanford have put up video of the lectures, and pdf files of the lecture slides. Then over on the course website at Stanford I can download the course assignments and any related source code.

I can then work through the course at my own pace, doing the assignments and at the end of it hopefully able to demonstrate my new knowledge to a prospective employer.

One draw back is that there is no or very little support for when you get stuck. However you might be able to find that online in a forum or website somewhere. You really do have to be self reliant with studying this way. Plus you are self marking your assignments (if you do them).

Another draw back is that once you have worked your way through the course there is no qualification to put on your c.v.. But for self improvement, or in a world where the Government is not interested in helping the unemployed update their skills to increase their chances of getting a job, at least mentioning that you have done a course will give a good impression to any prospective employer.

So how does this compare with say a paid for online training course? Well apart from the support side and maybe a bit of paper at the end (some just say that you have done the course), I think that they compare very well indeed. The quality of this Stanford iPhone course is really really good, especially compared to an online Java course my previous employer was using to train staff with.

But you don’t have to do that one, there are loads of different courses on there. Go into iTunes U and browse around to see what is on offer. There are even courses from our very own Open University on there.

Now you may you may not be an iTunes fan, and think that the software is a pile of poo (this is not my opinion I like iTunes, it’s not perfect I admit that, but then what software is?) Anyway I would argue that iTunes U is reason enough to install and put up with the iTunes software if you fall in to the iTunes Hater camp. If you already use and like iTunes then make that little side trip into the iTunes U world and have a look around.

Here have a browse online to see what they have. Click HERE

UK iPad Pricing And 3G Pricing

Last week Apple released the prices of the immently arriving iPad in the UK (I'm not going to reproduce them here, they can be found easily enough online).
I don't think anyone is really surprised at the prices, we knew they wouldn't be cheaper than the US. The ripping off of the UK public over the cost of electronic goods from the US is something that has been going on for decades. And frankly it's hard to muster up any anger over the issue. After decades of being mugged, and nothing done by our politicians or Government departments about it (there was an investigation a few years back, but it was a whitewash, and lacked any teeth) I've become numb about the issue.
However there is one issue related to the iPad I haven't become numb to.
Last week Orange became the first of the UK mobile carriers to announce the costs of using an iPad 3G on their data network.
None of their tarriffs offer unlimited 3G data, although they include "free" wifi access, which on some tarriffs is also capped. Go over your capped allowance on what ever plan you choose and it's 5p/MB. Which doesn't seem too bad compared to an O2 international data roaming charge of 13p/MB. But where is the unlimited dataplan like the one I have on my iPhone? The top Orange tarriff will be £25 for 10GB. My iPhone data plan that I have to have with O2 is less than a tenner, and is billed as unlimited (it probably isn't and may have somewhere in the small print a cap).
But the point is look at the difference in what is on offer and the cost.
I'm just hoping that when O2 and Vodaphone release their iPad 3G data plans we will see something more in line with the current iPhone data plan in lines of pricing. I'm not holding my breath, I'm used to being constantly disappointed by these cartels, and the false promise of competition we are sold.



-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 3G.

A Moan About Pointless iPhone Updates

Over on whitespider1066.com I've been covering iPhone apps that are relevant to the outdoors or blogging in the outdoors or taking photos. I've even covered relevant app updates.
It's this last coverage that has sparked this blog post and mini rant.
Now I love and respect the fact that iPhone app developers regularly update their apps. Whether these updates introduce new features, tweak stuff or fix bugs. It's all appreciated by a grateful public.
However when you see an update like the following:



The expectations are set for a change to the user interface. It's what the developer has said in their own words.
Yet what is this great user interface update that was so important that the developer HAD to get thus update out?
They changed their loading splash screen. Everything else has not changed.
Was this really necessary? Come on surely this could of been done at a later date with some other stuff like bug fixes or enhancements?
Developers and users often complain about how long it takes for iPhone apps to get approval from Apple.
But is it any surprise when some developers clog up the approval process with pointless updates like this?
The developers need to help themselves sometimes, and not be their own worst enemies.

-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 3G.

Happy Easter

No matter what your religious believes are, it doesn't change the fact we are in the middle of a religious holiday. So I'm going to wish you a happy Easter.
But if we remove the religious imagery one of the images that says Easter to me is that of the daffodil.
So here are a couple of photos taken on my iPhone of the 'wild' fenland daffs.






There are also cultivated ones as well.



-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 3G.

Wordpress iPhone App Falls Out Of Favour

Over on whitespider1066 I'm now covering in more detail mobiles in the outdoors.
Over recent weeks it has become clear that the iPhone wordpress app has become buggy and unusable. Soo much so that I have moved the app from my iPhone home screen and replaced it with blogpress.
I'll still keep an eye out on the updates in the hope that it will get fixed and once more become my prefered mobile blogging app.
But until then blogpress will be getting some extensive testing.


-- Could be remote blogging or just too lazy to fire up laptop/Macbook/netbook. But still this has been posted from my iPhone 3G.

Why I Won’t Be Using Android Anytime Soon

Every now and again I keep thinking I’d like to dabble with a Google Android phone. I know it’s a moment of weakness for an iPhone fan boy. But I keep thinking well if it is good enough for Leo Laporte then maybe I should give it a serious look.

Now like most heavy iPhone users or fanboys I have the odd app or two installed on my iPhone. Ok LOTS of apps installed on my iPhone.

Well I know that the Google Android phones allow apps to be installed. So if I was to make the leap over to the Google-side then I would need to find versions or equivalents on Google Android.

This is where I find that the Google Android-verse is putting up a barrier to stop me making that leap.

I know that Google Android has a marketplace, it’s version of the iPhone app store in iTunes. However to search the full Android marketplace to see what is there I need a Google Android phone. The only part of the Android marketplace I can see on line is a tiny tiny best of version of the marketplace.

So where in the iPhone world if I have iTunes installed I can search the app store and have a look around, or more importantly there is the web version of the app store as well. So it is easy for me to search and find an iPhone app(s) before deciding if I want to buy an iPhone. The only way on the Android marketplace for me to see if I could make that move to an Android phone and have the same functionality is to buy the Android phone!

This to me seems a bit arse about face from the king of search. And I am not going to make a leap of faith hoping that there are versions of the apps on the new platform. I want to be up and running as quick as possible, producing the same sorts of results I am now with my iPhone if I decide to make that jump over to Google Android. Sadly Google’s not thought things over and just gets in my way of making that decision. Well they make it easy, I’m sticking with my beloved iPhone.

Think Before You Update

Over on my outdoors blog (whitespider1066) I have been talking about the outdoors industry not really getting social media ("Not so social outdoors").
I also have some (and I say this myself) some great photos of a swan I took on my iPhone.
Over on whitespider1066 I advocate the Chase Jarvis mantra of the 'the best camera is the one with you'. Which usually means the iPhone 3G and it's 2 megapixel inbuilt camera.
There are posts over on the other blog where I have talked about the apps I use on the iPhone to edit photos.
But I will be covering some other iPhone apps over there as well in the near future that deal with OS map data and the GPS. It's the logical place for me to discuss these apps in detail.
But my point in the post I wrote yesterday is that the iPhone and now the Android phones are becoming conduits to the social networks that we use. They enable us to post updates and check what is going on in our networks from where ever we are. Whether this is using a geolocation based network like Foursquare to say "I'm here whose around?" or posting photos.
Yes with this location based stuff there is always the "but you are broadcasting you are away to potential burgulars". Which is true. BUT. Yes there is a but. What we need is people to put in a little more thought into what they broadcast on the social networks they are on, and also who they friend.
Let's look at Twitter, that is a pretty open social network. It is also one that I would think twice about broadcasting my where abouts on.
If using something like Gowalla and Foursquare, don't just friend every Tom,Dick and Harry. Because you are broadcasting your location you really need to know the people that you friend on these networks. It's a personal rule I like to use on these networks, no strangers, I need to know the people.
I also apply this rule to Facebook. But on Facebook you have more control over who gets to see what. And I would recommend that folks use these controls.
At the end of the day though you should always THINK before you post to a social network. Whether that post is some location based info, or a picture or just I'm doing such and such. THINK "what happens if this gets out to the wrong people?"
Also THINK before you accept some-one as a friend on a social network. Ask yourself "am I happy that this person knows where I am, or sees my photos, or reads my updates?"
Just applying common sense to the whole social networking stuff will help so much to avoiding those embarrassing situations. Maybe it's time we started teaching our kids, and ok us adults as well how to use these social networks. It really is surprising how many people don't know how to control their Facebook settings, or think about what they are posting. We need to educate.
These social networks are a great communication tool, that allow us to keep in contact with friends and family, make new friends, and share our ideas with the world. We just need to think a bit more and learn how to use these tools properly.

Some Windows Mobile 7 Thoughts

On Monday at a developers conference being held in Barcelona Microsoft previewed to the world Windows Mobile 7. This is the release of Windows Mobile that Microsoft are hoping gets them back in the game against Apple and Google.

From the reaction I have seen online so far it does sound like Microsoft may have done just that.

But there are a few caveats with this coverage and the opinions being expressed at the moment (including this one here). No one has a phone with this on at the moment and nor have they used it. Phones with Windows Mobile 7 on are not due out until the end of 2010 I believe.  These phones will be from some of the usual Microsoft partners which includes the biggie HTC.

HTC are really the leaders outside of Apple in designing smart phones. They have been doing it for years now, mainly with Windows Mobile and more recently with Google Android.

So until folks have a Windows Mobile 7 based phone in their hands and they are using the final production version of Windows Mobile 7 we really won’t know whether Microsoft has really pulled it off and got themselves back in the game.

It’s also a long time between now and the end of 2010, in that time there is an expected version 4 of the iPhone OS to be released. Plus there is very strong reasons to think that we will see at least one if not two more major releases of Google Android.

One thing I am sure of though is that Nokia and the Symbian OS are an also ran and we are seeing the possible death throws of that OS. That is despite the recent open sourcing of the Symbian OS and making it free to other manufacturers. It comes across as too little too late, or to hammer the point home even more shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted. Don’t get me wrong Nokia will still make phones I just think they will move eventually to Android for their smart phones.

The Palm Pre is also going to be an also ran if not already dead. I have seen rumours that production has been stopped currently on the Palm Pre range. Whether this is due to the supply line being at full capacity or that they are just not selling and well you get the picture. The Palm Pre was always a last throw of the dice for Palm. A gamble that is not paying off.

RIM and the Blackberry they have yet to respond properly to all the above. I’m not writing them off yet. But based on their attempt to take on the iPhone in the past I’m not holding my breathe.

The main points are we need hands on, we need to see how it compares to the expected updates from the competition, and only then can we make a better more informed discussion about this all. But in the meantime it does look like Microsoft have stepped up to the mark.

Sorry Another Virtual Revolution Rant

I don't know why I keep doing this, but once more I find myself watching The Virtual Revolution on the BBC.
From my previous two posts I think folks know how I feel about the series. I do feel that a more apt title for the show would be "stating the bloody obvious".
For me the show is full of tired cliche shots that I have taken the mickey out of in previous posts. I mean they have so many shots of the woman walking down a busy street as if she was in the Matrix (see that Youtube clip I embedded in the previous post). Each show does get more and more like a real life parody of the Spike Milligan sketch I also linked to in the first post about this series. It's almost as every sentence she says to camera is filmed at a new more exotic location than the previous one. Or to mingle it up she is seen staring off into infinity in deep thought.
Dr Krotoski tries to qualify herself as an expert on the subject by claiming to have researched and written about the web over the last ten years. Who hasn't? So she is as qualified as me and most techies on this subject then. Where is our all expense paid filmed global holiday cunningly disguised as a "documentary" about the internet?
So I am going to leave you with the same shot that they finished this weeks show with. Me sitting on the beach with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance tapping away on my laptop, followed with me strolling along the shoreline looking lost in thought as the waves break on the beach.
Yes the shots were as tacky and pointless as that. And at our expense!

More Secrets Of The Virtual Revolution Revealed

Been watching that BBC Virtual Revolution program again. I know I know I'm a sucker for punishment. But after having seen this youtube clip from another BBC program I believe, although about the news, also applies to this show as well.

It's amazing how close the Virtual Revolution follows this clip.

The Virtual Dud

Last night on BBC tv at the expense of the licence payer Aleks Krotoski was shown looking deep in thought or typing away at her keyboard of her laptop in ever more scenic or glamorous locations round the globe. These shots were all part of it's new four part series The Virtual Revolution.

The hard life these so called experts and journalists have at our expense. Just what are the thoughts that they were having in these shots? "Where can I go next on my bucket list?", "Is the Hilton more expensive than the Marriot in New York? I hope so." It all reminded me of a skit that Spike Milligan did in the 80's. I think it hits the nail on the head, and seems so prophetic. Oh word of warning the following clip is NOT SAFE FOR WORK, but is amazingly funny.

What did I think of the show itself? Piece of crap really, dumbed down tosh just like the Beebs other super dumbed down tech output Click.

I think some one at the BBC needs to start treating the audience as intelligent and producing tech shows that are aimed at some one more intelligent than a five year old. They should go have a word with Leo Laporte at twit.tv.

Apple vs Google Voice App

A lot shorter one for you to listen to today.

Hopefully a player has appeared above. If not you can download the mp4 audio file here.

The iPad

Instead of writing my thoughts on the new Apple iPad I decided to record them using my iPhone this morning as I walked my mutts.

Hopefully a player has appeared above. If not you can download the mp4 audio file here.

Video Gaming Has Always Been Social

The average video gamer has the image of being  a loner that is stuck indoors for hours on end with no social contact with others.

I don’t think that is a fair stereo type of the gamer. These days there is much fuss made of the social aspect of games. Whether it is playing online with your friends or strangers, or having friends round and playing games like Rock Band or Wii Sports.

But even this isn’t new. Since the dawn of the video game consoles playing video games has been a social activity for gamers.

Back in those far and distance times the social gaming was having your friends round to play on your Atari 2600 or Sinclair Spectrum. At the time at best the games were two player. Otherwise it was friends taking it in turns to play a game in single player mode.

The only real progress over the years was two player modes getting more sophisticated, introducing split screens, dual controller ports. Then as hardware got more powerful we started seeing more ports added so up to four friends could play together at one time on the same game.

While that was all going on some home computer gamers were experimenting with playing games online with their dial up modems and bulletin boards. These early online games were mainly text based adventure games.

These bulletin boards and online games were the early versions of the online communities that we have today.

Some of my fondest gaming memories are those I shared with friends. I had both the Sinclair Spectrum and Commodore 64. I also had the modem Commodore sold for the 64, and a membership of Compunet. It was on Compunet that you were able to download demos with the hacked sound effects and music from games. One of my favourite games and also my best friend Andy was Commando. The Spectrum had the better game play than the 64 version. So while one of us was playing the Spectrum version of the game, with sound turned down. The other would be on the 64 doing the sound effects and music using a demo that would allow you to press keys to get the music or sound effects from the 64 version of the game.

All of the above to todays young gamer would look so primitive but it goes to demonstrate that even in those dark ages gaming never was just a solo anti-social activity. It has always been an activity you could do with your friends.  It’s just that now it’s a cool thing to do.