I just ran across a re-post on a forum of a previous post related to how Android is missing the point. The post drew quite a bit of fire from the Android camp, and it was great to see the debate. Of course, in the original post, I was pointing out that the real value of the current generation of smartphones (iPhone and Android specifically) is in the apps, and that Android simply doesn't have it together the way that Apple does.
It was flattering to see the re-post, so I thank you. It is also great to see the debate and comments that ensued. Even those that disagree. I only wish that the comments were posted directly on the original post. In any case, thank you xFilter for posting my stuff over on Rage3D.
I encourage you to read the thread if you are at all interested: http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33972303
Healthy debate is the cornerstone of great achievement.
Cheers!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Life with Apple TV - Episode 2
Friday, January 21, 2011
Day 5 With Apple TV
So here I am, almost a week in with Apple TV. Admittedly, I haven't had a lot of time to play with it, but that didn't stop Apple from billing me for the movie that failed to download to the device. Every morning I get up and try to play "Dispicable Me", which I rented on day one, and every morning I am met with the unchanging progress bar.
Seems to me that the core functionality should work before they start shipping product.
In any case, we have been having internet connection problems lately (thanks a lot Quest). I wonder if I just kinda-sorta paid my bills once in a while if they would be happy with my account. Seems only fair to me, since the service kinda-sorta works once in a while. But enough rambling about my lousy internet service. Even with a spotty connection, you would think that the Apple TV would be able to download a rental movie within say, 5 days or so. Needless to say, this is somewhat disappointing.
While I have been waiting for my rental to download (and well after it has been paid for), I did manage to order and receive a refurbished MacBookPro. After applying the latest software download, the AitPlay feature streaming to the Apple TV is working very well. Also having good success using HandBrake to convert some of my AVI files and DVDs to MP4 to replay on the Apple TV.
Unfortunately, I need to leave my MacBookPro turned on and iTunes running for AppleTV to be able to stream movies from it. A somewhat clunky solution if you ask me.
I was really hoping that Apple would have a refined, useful product before going to market. AppletTV at this point is little more than a very small, decent Netflix player that integrates nicely with an iTunes library on a running computer that has iTunes open. In hindsight, I suspect that the Roku is a better value, as it has a lot more features for the same or lower price. I also suspect that most of the features actually work, since they don't have the power of the Apple brand to drive sales.
I'll keep using the AppleTV and hopefully publish some better news once the next software update comes out. At this point, for me, the core features simply do not work. I will also get on the phone with Apple support when I get a chance and give them the opportunity to rectify the situation, however for the moment, I am pretty disappointed.
Day 5 With Apple TV
So here I am, almost a week in with Apple TV. Admittedly, I haven't had a lot of time to play with it, but that didn't stop Apple from billing me for the movie that failed to download to the device. Every morning I get up and try to play "Dispicable Me", which I rented on day one, and every morning I am met with the unchanging progress bar.
Seems to me that the core functionality should work before they start shipping product.
In any case, we have been having internet connection problems lately (thanks a lot Quest). I wonder if I just kinda-sorta paid my bills once in a while if they would be happy with my account. Seems only fair to me, since the service kinda-sorta works once in a while. But enough rambling about my lousy internet service. Even with a spotty connection, you would think that the Apple TV would be able to download a rental movie within say, 5 days or so. Needless to say, this is somewhat disappointing.
While I have been waiting for my rental to download (and well after it has been paid for), I did manage to order and receive a refurbished MacBookPro. After applying the latest software download, the AitPlay feature streaming to the Apple TV is working very well. Also having good success using HandBrake to convert some of my AVI files and DVDs to MP4 to replay on the Apple TV.
Unfortunately, I need to leave my MacBookPro turned on and iTunes running for AppleTV to be able to stream movies from it. A somewhat clunky solution if you ask me.
I was really hoping that Apple would have a refined, useful product before going to market. AppletTV at this point is little more than a very small, decent Netflix player that integrates nicely with an iTunes library on a running computer that has iTunes open. In hindsight, I suspect that the Roku is a better value, as it has a lot more features for the same or lower price. I also suspect that most of the features actually work, since they don't have the power of the Apple brand to drive sales.
I'll keep using the AppleTV and hopefully publish some better news once the next software update comes out. At this point, for me, the core features simply do not work. I will also get on the phone with Apple support when I get a chance and give them the opportunity to rectify the situation, however for the moment, I am pretty disappointed.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Life with Apple TV - Episode 1
Monday, January 17,2010:
AppleTV Inception Day
Getting the Goods:
Early in the afternoon, I picked up the AppleTV 2 from the Apple Store in Boulder, CO. Unfortunately, they had no in-store demo for me to play around with, but judging from my stellar experience with Apple products so far (2 iPhone 4s, 2 iPod Touch 3g, MacBook Pro), I had no reservations.
Installation:
Setting up the Apple TV could not have been easier. Plug in the power, plug in the HDMI cable, and configure my wireless network WEP key. Typical Apple - flawless.
First Tests - AirPlay from iPhone 4 to AppleTV
Since I had been reading online about the AirPlay feature built-in to the latest iOS for iPhone, I had to try it immediately. After firing up a movie on my iPhone 4, the AirPlay icon appeared as expected in the video controls. Simply choosing the AppleTV device, presto, the movie was playing on the bigscreen within 15 seconds. Simply awesome.
Expanding on this test slightly, I quickly noticed that it was just as easy to AirPlay from iTunes on my HP notebook. Somewhat surprised, and impressed, I moved on to some other tests.
Renting a Movie
Navigating to the "Movies" option on AppleTV, which is clearly the iTunes store, the kids promptly chose "Despicable Me" for us to watch. Having no problem paying a few bucks for a rental, I queued it up for rental. After using Netflix on several other devices (including my phone, DVD player and WII), I kind-of expected the movie to start playing within a minute or so. No dice there. AppleTV notified me that it would be ready in a whopping 32 hours. At this point, I figured that we would need to queue up some rentals and watch them later. Disappointed, I abandoned Despicable Me for the moment, and moved on to some other things, presumably while AppleTV downloaded the whole movie (or something).
Netflix on Apple TV
After my disappointment renting a movie from the iTunes store, I wanted to see how the AppleTV worked as a Netflix client. I easily set up my Netflix account and was able to easily navigate to my instant queue and browse movies to watch. My kids again selected an animated feature (Fly Me to the Moon) and we started it up. It took longer than expected to load - perhaps 3 minutes - but did start to play. The video playback on this run was choppy, stopping more than a dozen times during the 1.5 hour feature. Another disappointment. Of course, maybe it was related to the concurrent download of "Despicable Me" from the iTunes store? In any case, not real thrilled at this point
After the kids were snugly tucked into bed, sitting there frustrated with the poor Netflix performance, I figured I'd try a few things. First, I just selected a movie from my instant queue and started playing it. Oddly, it started up quickly and ran flawlessly for the 45 minutes or so that I was able to keep my eyes open.
Conclusion : Inconclusive
So, in conclusion, the results are inconclusive for today. AirPlay works like a champ, movie rentals from the iTunes store (direct to the AppleTV) are disappointing at best, and Netflix is touch-and-go. Looks like more testing tomorrow.
AppleTV Inception Day
Getting the Goods:
Early in the afternoon, I picked up the AppleTV 2 from the Apple Store in Boulder, CO. Unfortunately, they had no in-store demo for me to play around with, but judging from my stellar experience with Apple products so far (2 iPhone 4s, 2 iPod Touch 3g, MacBook Pro), I had no reservations.
Installation:
Setting up the Apple TV could not have been easier. Plug in the power, plug in the HDMI cable, and configure my wireless network WEP key. Typical Apple - flawless.
First Tests - AirPlay from iPhone 4 to AppleTV
Since I had been reading online about the AirPlay feature built-in to the latest iOS for iPhone, I had to try it immediately. After firing up a movie on my iPhone 4, the AirPlay icon appeared as expected in the video controls. Simply choosing the AppleTV device, presto, the movie was playing on the bigscreen within 15 seconds. Simply awesome.
Expanding on this test slightly, I quickly noticed that it was just as easy to AirPlay from iTunes on my HP notebook. Somewhat surprised, and impressed, I moved on to some other tests.
Renting a Movie
Navigating to the "Movies" option on AppleTV, which is clearly the iTunes store, the kids promptly chose "Despicable Me" for us to watch. Having no problem paying a few bucks for a rental, I queued it up for rental. After using Netflix on several other devices (including my phone, DVD player and WII), I kind-of expected the movie to start playing within a minute or so. No dice there. AppleTV notified me that it would be ready in a whopping 32 hours. At this point, I figured that we would need to queue up some rentals and watch them later. Disappointed, I abandoned Despicable Me for the moment, and moved on to some other things, presumably while AppleTV downloaded the whole movie (or something).
Netflix on Apple TV
After my disappointment renting a movie from the iTunes store, I wanted to see how the AppleTV worked as a Netflix client. I easily set up my Netflix account and was able to easily navigate to my instant queue and browse movies to watch. My kids again selected an animated feature (Fly Me to the Moon) and we started it up. It took longer than expected to load - perhaps 3 minutes - but did start to play. The video playback on this run was choppy, stopping more than a dozen times during the 1.5 hour feature. Another disappointment. Of course, maybe it was related to the concurrent download of "Despicable Me" from the iTunes store? In any case, not real thrilled at this point
After the kids were snugly tucked into bed, sitting there frustrated with the poor Netflix performance, I figured I'd try a few things. First, I just selected a movie from my instant queue and started playing it. Oddly, it started up quickly and ran flawlessly for the 45 minutes or so that I was able to keep my eyes open.
Conclusion : Inconclusive
So, in conclusion, the results are inconclusive for today. AirPlay works like a champ, movie rentals from the iTunes store (direct to the AppleTV) are disappointing at best, and Netflix is touch-and-go. Looks like more testing tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
3 Reasons to get Camera+ for iPhone
My favorite photography-related app this year (or rather last year) is Camera+. Billed as an "all in one" camera app, I still find myself using the stock camera or ClearCam to actually capture the images, but once they are captured, it's all Camera+ for me.
So here they are, my 3 good reasons to get Camera+ for your iPhone:
Reason #1: Quick & Easy Image Editing
The best features of Camera+ are in the lightbox. This is where you can open any image you have on your camera roll and crop, rotate, and apply a myriad of special effects. Many times now I have taken lousy photos and made them acceptable with a few quick taps on the Camera+ editor.
Here's a "Before" image shot with the stock camera:
And "After" a few quick edits with Camera+
As you can see, a little work with Camera+ can make a big difference.
Reason #2: A Better Camera
The camera is OK. Better than the stocker because it includes some features that either are not present on the stock camera or I just couldn't find them. Noteably the stabilizer, timer and burst mode. Camera+ also makes the zoom feature very easy to use, but it's still a digital zoom (as opposed to optical), so I never use it anyway.
Reason #3: Shoot and Share with Ease
Also included is the ability to easily share your photos out to Flickr, Facebook and Twitter. While I appreciate how quick and easy it is to share photos this way, it does upload them to a branded domain / frame that is promoting Camera+. Overall, though, it's worth it in my opinion to have a quick, easy way to post a shot.
Here's a sample of what that looks like once you upload it to the Camera+ website automatically from the app: http://campl.us/pWd (My New Year's Eve "Toast")
So, What are you Waiting For?
I recommend this app to anyone who finds themselves (like me) frustrated with the photos on their iPhone. Even if I know they can be fixed easily on a computer, I don't want to go through a sync just to do it. It also makes sharing super-easy, which is great for all you tweeps, FB's and Flickrs out there.
Cheers --
-- Steve
So here they are, my 3 good reasons to get Camera+ for your iPhone:
Reason #1: Quick & Easy Image Editing
The best features of Camera+ are in the lightbox. This is where you can open any image you have on your camera roll and crop, rotate, and apply a myriad of special effects. Many times now I have taken lousy photos and made them acceptable with a few quick taps on the Camera+ editor.
Here's a "Before" image shot with the stock camera:
And "After" a few quick edits with Camera+
As you can see, a little work with Camera+ can make a big difference.
Reason #2: A Better Camera
The camera is OK. Better than the stocker because it includes some features that either are not present on the stock camera or I just couldn't find them. Noteably the stabilizer, timer and burst mode. Camera+ also makes the zoom feature very easy to use, but it's still a digital zoom (as opposed to optical), so I never use it anyway.
Reason #3: Shoot and Share with Ease
Also included is the ability to easily share your photos out to Flickr, Facebook and Twitter. While I appreciate how quick and easy it is to share photos this way, it does upload them to a branded domain / frame that is promoting Camera+. Overall, though, it's worth it in my opinion to have a quick, easy way to post a shot.
Here's a sample of what that looks like once you upload it to the Camera+ website automatically from the app: http://campl.us/pWd (My New Year's Eve "Toast")
So, What are you Waiting For?
I recommend this app to anyone who finds themselves (like me) frustrated with the photos on their iPhone. Even if I know they can be fixed easily on a computer, I don't want to go through a sync just to do it. It also makes sharing super-easy, which is great for all you tweeps, FB's and Flickrs out there.
Cheers --
-- Steve
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