gadgets – mindflayer.net

I have always thought Hans Christian Andersen should have written a companion piece to the Emperor’s New Clothes, in which everyone points at the Emperor shouting, in a Nelson from the Simpson’s voice, “Ha ha! He’s naked.” And then a lone child pipes up, ‘No. He’s actually wearing a really fine suit of clothes.” And they all clap hands to their foreheads as they realise they have been duped into something worse than the confidence trick, they have fallen for what E. M. Forster called the lack of confidence trick. How much easier it is to distrust, to doubt, to fold the arms and say “Not impressed”. I’m not advocating dumb gullibility, but it is has always amused me that those who instinctively dislike Apple for being apparently cool, trendy, design fixated and so on are the ones who are actually so damned cool and so damned sensitive to stylistic nuance that they can’t bear to celebrate or recognise obvious class, beauty and desire. The fact is that Apple users like me are the uncoolest people on earth: we salivate, dribble, coo, sigh, grin and bubble with delight.

By mindflayer | Posted in gadgets, mac | Comments (0)

Why the iPad?

January 29, 2010

The first thing people say about the iPad is why does it not have $FEATURE?

Why? It’s about the software and experience.

That’s what people miss. Was the iPod a phenomenal device on it’s own? No. Was iTunes the best MP3 album software? No. Did the two, plus the store, create an incredible vertical experience? Yes.

This is what other companies miss. The Microsoft Zune HD is an awesome device. Not allowing people to activate for two days and then gimp software? Not good. Sony eReaders are slick. Is the book buying experience good? No. You need to make the total user experience seamless.

I know the iPad is not for everyone, and you can bet Apple more than understands that. They are selling a device to people that never bought a netbook, don’t know what a smartbook is, and suddenly “realize” they want an easy to use mobile device. They are selling a device to people that have an iPhone that want just a little bit more. They are not selling the device to people that remove Windows from their netbook and immediately install Ubuntu.

The last said…. I still may get an iPad.

By mindflayer | Posted in gadgets | Comments (0)

Tiltshift app

October 31, 2009

Taken with Tiltshift Generator

By mindflayer | Posted in iPhone, photography | Comments (0)

Gmail push now enabled

September 22, 2009

From the Google blog:

Earlier this year, we launched Google Sync which allows you to synchronize your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar with your iPhone, Windows Mobile, and S60 devices. Today, we’re adding Gmail support to Google Sync for iPhone, iPod Touch and Windows Mobile devices.

By mindflayer | Posted in Mobility | Comments (0)

Quick iTunes 9 first impressions

September 9, 2009

iTunes 9 was just released. You can go to any number of sites for the press release, so just my first impressions.

The look is now softer, more subtle, maybe a little more “plastic”. The maximize (green) button no longer puts iTunes into mini mode on the Mac. You have to hit Shift--M to switch, which follows the Windows behavior. The Application tab and the Store both have a new, lighter look.

The Applications management tab is going to be a hit with people who have a lot of apps.

Management of Playlists, Photos, TV shows, and Podcasts similarly got refinements, albeit not as dramatic as the Applications. It would be nice if Aperture and iTunes could both pull CoreData links and show quick thumbnails of the albums.