mendax.org » software http://mendax.org WyldKard's mental brouhaha. est. 1996 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:40:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 The 2010 Toyota Prius IV. http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F07%2F27%2Fthe-2010-toyota-prius-iv%2F&seed_title=The+2010+Toyota+Prius+IV. http://mendax.org/2010/07/27/the-2010-toyota-prius-iv/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:00:37 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=2080

The 2010 Toyota Prius IV isn’t the type of automobile that car aficionados lust after. Rather, it’s the type of car that those who only want to get from Point A to Point B will love because it’s fuel efficient and reminiscent of a luxury sedan. That’s not to say that it is a luxury vehicle, because it’s not, but the Prius IV has a number of comfort features that aim to impress: heated leather seats, good sound system, rear-view camera, sun roof, and vent-powering solar panel.

(Let’s clarify for a moment: we’re talking about the Prius IV, not the more basic I, II, or III packages. The differences between these may be slight, but to be fair, it’s the IV and V that are reminiscent of a luxury car, whereas the other packages can be significantly more spartan.)

It’s a hybrid.

For us, coming off a Volkswagen R32, the difference in performance is significant. The trade-off is obvious, however: a more quiet ride, with twice the mileage per tank and half the price. That trade-off may not be appealing if you’re prone to aggressive driving with open stretches, but in metropolitan areas where traffic patterns are dense, with fun escapes from this traffic being rare, then having a car without much oomph isn’t a huge issue, as long as basic driver comfort is met. And here, the Prius IV delivers fairly well.

And let’s be honest, that twice-the-distance-half-the-price thing is pretty awesome. With basic unleaded gas (87), we’re talking $25 for a fill-up, which gets us over 500 miles of range. Considering that the only other car to do that is the now-discontinued and very compact original Honda Insight, the Prius naturally wins the MPG race, and does so packing more people/stuff.

When we first looked at the 2010 Prius, the salesperson was keen on pointing out that the car had three driving modes. One was the “EV” mode, for forcing the car to run only on the battery. “Eco” mode was next, for focusing on best gas mileage. Third was “power” mode, for getting more juice to the wheels. Let’s be fair, though: in real-world use, you’re only going to use the second mode most of the time, because power mode doesn’t really add that much spin to your wheels, and EV mode shuts itself off when you go beyond a certain speed/acceleration, or if the air conditioner is up in high gear. So really, EV mode may be fine for just cruising around the parking lot, and maybe you’ll push the power mode button when trapped between two trailers on the freeway, but slowing down to a snail’s pace or putting the petal to the metal as it were accomplishes both of these things as well; eco-mode will automatically draw power only from the battery at low speeds, and provide more juice from the engine when needed. Perhaps giving consumers the perception of micromanagement is helping sales, but these options feel almost silly to us.

We assume that for power-management purposes, Toyota pulled the daytime running lights from the Prius, despite the fact that models such as the Matrix come standard with this feature: it’s a safety feature, after all. We can’t imagine that the power draw is that big of an issue, especially since the car will never be sucking battery juice exclusively when not cruising a parking lot. The mystery continues when you forget to leave the Prius’ lights on when the car is off, because unlike most other cars on the market now, the Prius doesn’t complain with an audible beep – the lights just stay on.

A cool family car.

The Prius IV is now considered an intermediate sized-car, up from the “compact” footprint that hybrids were previously known for. With four doors and adequate cabin room to fill the back seats, the Prius can make for a good family car, whether that means you have kids or just a backseat-filling dog. The rear seats fold down completely, and by “completely” we mean that they don’t angle upwards towards the front of the cabin, so sliding furniture or boxes or whatever else in is easy. There’s also no drop behind a lip when the trunk is open, again making for easy loading and unloading of whatever you plan to haul around. This is a solid hatch-back feature, and it’s a wonder that other car companies haven’t come around to this, as it really complements the already-spacious interior.

Locks on the Prius IV are keyless, as is starting the engine. There’s a key-fab that’s proximity-based, so as long as the fab is on your person, you can lock and unlock doors just by touching the car’s door handle(s). It’s a nice feature with a physical override in the event that you key-fab’s battery dies, and the effect of keyless entry is another space-age touch that makes the Prius cool.

Inside, the Prius doesn’t disappoint aesthetically – the dash is full of sexy, mesmerizing LCDs, letting you see where the car’s power is currently coming from (battery or engine), and not even displaying things such as RPMs, as most people could care less about this in the first place. This is indicative of the Prius’ market: not gear-heads, but people who appreciate a clean interface and straightforward usability. Were it not for the lack of little touches here or there, the Prius could almost be considered the Macintosh of cars.

Unfortunately, as space-age looking as the interior is, it’s not perfectly polished: the leather trim is minimal beyond the seats, with much of the dash and doors trimmed in a hard, patterned plastic. It doesn’t look bad, but it doesn’t look as clean as leather either, and while likely more durable in the long run, it doesn’t feel particularly robust when giving some areas a slight push and not feeling much resistance.

The car’s climate controls are nice, but aimed at the front seats. Rear passengers have it tough during very hot or very cold weather, because there are no rear vents – not even under the seats. Even our R32 which had little space in the back seats had vents beneath the front seats and at the rear of the center console. That the Prius, which is a larger car aimed more at a family market doesn’t have this, is almost ludicrous. “But WyldKard, we’ve had cars for decades without rear vents, and our rear passengers have made out just fine. ” We’ve made out fine without power steering for decades too, but that doesn’t mean modern cars should shirk this feature today.

The nav-stereo.

The stereo with built-in navigation is pretty good considering just how poor most stock navigation systems are. The downside is that a number of features are disabled when the car is in motion, such as entering an address or manipulating bluetooth controls for wirelessly connecting to, say, an . The nice thing is that none of these features require add-ons, which was the case with our R32 and bluetooth telephony. It’s pretty stupid for a car manufacturer to disable features temporarily under the guise of safety, however, when real-world use cases mean that a passenger should be able to use the navigation equipment when the car is in motion. In this sense, it’s rather sad that the car detects the presence of a passenger for the purpose of enabling the passenger airbag, but that this same detection mechanism isn’t used to unlock navigation controls.

The stereo itself is good – not as good sounding as the premium system that came stock in our previous 2005 Ford Mustang GT, but with adequate base nonetheless. Control-wise, the Prius IV’s stereo is fantastic, and truly shows how much better touch-screen interfaces are than the pitiful controls on our R32 were. Surely, it’s no iOS interface still, but it’s better than much of the competition.

Speaking of iOS, the Prius IV’s stereo connects to iOS devices via A2DP, letting you listen to any audio from an iOS device (not just from the app), as well as letting you make and receive calls using the car’s speaker system. Thus far, no one we’ve talked to in this manner even knew we were calling from the car, and assumed we were using our Jawbone headset or stock iOS hardware. So good and convenient are these calls, that we haven’t recharged our bluetooth headset since setting the car’s bluetooth connection up.

Unfortunately, while the bluetooth connectivity is solid 80% of the time, there’s the occasional glitch. Normally, as soon as we turn the car on, bluetooth connectivity is achieved and playback from whatever audio app we used last resumes, be it from the app or Pandora. Every once in awhile, however, we have to run through a couple menus to get bluetooth to work properly, and while even rarer, there are times that bluetooth playback of our music suddenly stops, and we have to disconnect the device manually and reconnect it using the car’s stereo interface (when the car is stopped). We don’t know where the problem lies, as it may be an issue with ’s bluetooth implementation or Toyota’s, but it’s annoying either way. Fortunately, the only time we regularly have to touch the car’s bluetooth settings is when ours was not the last device used, such as if our significant other used the Prius with her . In those cases, when we start the car up, we have to tell it to look for our instead, but then we’re off five seconds later with streaming audio goodness.

Mandatory conclusion paragraph.

We didn’t get a chance to play around with previous Prius incarnations, but judging the car on it’s 2010 build, the Prius IV is every bit as comfortable as other “premium” cars in its price range. What you give up is base performance, but most families don’t care about raw performance as much as safety anyway. What they care about is getting from one place to another, and these days, doing it as cheaply as possible. Raw fuel savings may not be spectacular compared to a cheaper, non-hybrid car that’s still considered fuel efficient, but the Prius epitomizes fuel efficiency in a package that greenies can put on a pedestal for not supporting terrorism and being slightly more earth-friendly.

While the Prius still takes top honors among “alternate fuel vehicles,” we realize that’s partially because the respective roster is so thin right now. As this roster grows, the Prius will have to keep getting better, not just in respect to its hybrid engine, but in terms of features and polish as well. Right now, the Prius IV is slightly above middle-ground when it comes to in-car comfort, meaning that Toyota has a solid platform for building more budget-oriented vehicles, or more premium models. Whether the Prius maintains its position as Toyota’s flagship standard for hybrids remains to be seen, but with only a little more polish, we easily see it holding its ground for the immediate future, especially if other titans like Honda aren’t able to quickly capitalize on hybrid technology (e.g. the Insight’s sad resurrection).

Oh, also, the Prius’ brakes seem to work fine, in case you were wondering.

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]]> http://mendax.org/2010/07/27/the-2010-toyota-prius-iv/feed/ 0 Still no iOS app data backup in iTunes? http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F06%2F30%2Fstill-no-ios-app-data-backup-in-itunes%2F&seed_title=Still+no+iOS+app+data+backup+in+iTunes%3F http://mendax.org/2010/06/30/still-no-ios-app-data-backup-in-itunes/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:09:46 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=2065

We’ve now seen four generations of iPhones, have witnessed iterations of the Touch, and seen the birth of the largest iOS device, the . And, of course, we’ve seen numerous versions of iTunes supporting the various iOS releases, with app management advances such as folders and the ability to import files like PDFs from iTunes itself. But yet somehow, despite all these advances, we’re still without core app management functionality like off-device data backup.

In other words, when we install an app on one of our iDevices, we can backup related data when we sync the iDevice with iTunes. In the even that our iDevice gets lost, breaks, or has some sort of iOS upgrade problem, we can always restore from our backup to not only get our apps back, but the respective data for those apps also. This means we don’t lose our app configurations, game backups, et al.

However, if we delete a particular app from our iDevice, even if we’ve synced the iDevice with iTunes in the past, any data associated with the deleted app is not only removed from the iDevice, but from iTunes as well. Thus, if we delete, say, a game, we lose all our associated achievements, and if we ever reinstall that game onto an iDevice in the future, we have to start from scratch. How is this good ?

One of two things should happen when one deletes an app from an iDevice:

  1. If the iDevice was not synced with that app on it before, the user should be prompted with a message saying that deleting the app means losing all associated data too, unless the user first syncs the iDevice to iTunes before deleting the app.
  2. The user should be prompted as to whether they wish to delete the app and its associated data, or just the app. If the latter is chosen, the next time the iDevice syncs with iTunes, it off-loads deleted app data that is still resident, and only deletes it once it’s been copied to iTunes.

Users should then be able to manage associated app data from within iTunes. This doesn’t mean they should be permitted to edit that data, but choose whether to keep it or simply delete it (assuming they never want to use the app again, else start with a fresh install).

Right now, too many issues still present themselves with iDevices not to have app data persistent somewhere, regardless of whether an app is maintained on a given iDevice. Just this past weekend, when we had to bring in our 3GS because it entered a restore-cycle, and ultimately handed a new 3GS, we were advised to set up the as a new device, and not restore from a previous backup. Getting our mail, calendars, and contacts back were a non-issue thanks to Mobile Me, but everything else was a hassle. We can deal with moving icons around to once again set up our interface like we want it, but getting every app set up again is a pain, and in the case of apps that don’t themselves backup to the (like games), losing all associated data is unacceptable. Do we really need to wait much longer for this problem to be properly addressed by ?

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]]> http://mendax.org/2010/06/30/still-no-ios-app-data-backup-in-itunes/feed/ 0 Upgrade to iOS 4 and lose cellular data? http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F06%2F25%2Fupgrade-to-ios-4-and-lose-cellular-data%2F&seed_title=Upgrade+to+iOS+4+and+lose+cellular+data%3F http://mendax.org/2010/06/25/upgrade-to-ios-4-and-lose-cellular-data/#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:38:53 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=2053

A number of people have reported losing data over AT&T when upgrading older iPhones to iOS 4. The culprit isn’t clear, though many owners reported jailbreaking their iPhones in the past, though this doesn’t appear to be a universal factor. Regardless, the common solution for getting data back is to restore the from a previous state, sometimes using a different admin account on an OS X system in order to force iTunes into re-downloading the iOS 4 update.

We underwent the same loss of data after upgrading our 3GS, and though a restore worked after setting the up as a new phone, we weren’t happy with losing all our data. (Restoring from a previous backup didn’t work, even after restoring the firmware and setting the up as a new device.) Fortunately, we found a solution that worked, which doesn’t require one to restore the at all.

It seems that the loss of data may be tied to AT&T’s carrier file, which may have ben corrupted/changed on older iPhones (possibly after jailbreaking or installing jailbreak apps). To fix this, get on a wifi network, and from the , head over to HELP.BENM.AT and follow the links to obtain the carrier file for your respective service provider. Once the file has been installed, you’ll be back up and running with cellular data, without having spent the time to set up your as a brand new device.Similar Posts:

]]> http://mendax.org/2010/06/25/upgrade-to-ios-4-and-lose-cellular-data/feed/ 0 Some people might want a computer for their iPad. Some. http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F05%2F17%2Fsome-people-might-want-a-computer-for-their-ipad%2F&seed_title=Some+people+might+want+a+computer+for+their+iPad.+Some. http://mendax.org/2010/05/17/some-people-might-want-a-computer-for-their-ipad/#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 18:47:53 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=2019

We’ve said before that the is a fantastic computing solution for the average person, since the delivers all the content most people need, and works very well for basic office work. Maxator points out a number of things the can’t do, which necessitate also having a “traditional” computer at home.

CD/DVD burning/ripping.

Media issues are likely a short-term problem for adopters of -like devices; how long can the optical disc remain viable in a world of digital distribution, especially when there’s little legitimate reason to burn anything anymore? Seriously, we’ve burnt a handful of discs in the last couple years, and most of those were related to a console hack.

We can’t imagine that our burning needs are much different than for most people. Burning audio discs is a thing of the past thanks to the , and most data (like office documents) are small enough to be thrown onto the . In what common use scenario is burning 650MB of data a reasonable solution compared to removable flash storage or simple network transmission?

As far as movies go, legacy media is one thing, but for all future media, online consumption will become the norm, so why not adopt it now? Arguably, one could obtain an online copy of media you already own, which is effectively the same thing as ripping the respective DVD yourself. Now granted, this doesn’t address storage issues, since the maxes out at 64GB at the moment, but that’s not necessarily a deal breaker, as we’ll note later.

One obstacle for dealing with online media, however, is with tackling file distribution outside the iTunes store. This is great for the big labels, and , but not great for those who rely on things like BitTorrent. That’s because without a BitTorrent client for the in sight, or similar apps for other peer-to-peer networks, downloading files of any sort to the is impossible without something like FTP, which is ultimately limited.

Legacy .

Faulting state-of-the-art technology because it doesn’t cater to legacy is a questionable practice. Yes, people want backwards compatibility, but sometimes that compatibility needs to be balanced with a forward momentum, which has almost mastered. Thus it was with the floppy disc, so it is becoming with optical media, and so it will be for closed technologies like Flash. Faulting for not supporting a third-party plugin seems like misappropriating blame: if you’re upset that you can’t view all your favorite websites on mobile devices, maybe you should blame the respective website developers instead. After all, it’s not that their content doesn’t work on devices, it’s that it doesn’t work on any mobile device, since Flash doesn’t exist in a mobile form yet. (Adobe is “working” on it.)

Same goes for legacy in general. Sure, it’d be nice to have TurboTax, Crossover, and Ulysses running on the , but if the demand and capability were there, you can bet that the will follow. (As far as TurboTax goes, does the web version not run in Mobile Safari?) The AppStore is a tour de force, with an amazing number of quality apps available designed for productivity. For most users, the AppStore either already offers an app you need, or will soon.

Backup/syncing.

The real hang-up to relying purely on the for computing that entails massive storage is backups and data management. Right now, the works well with iTunes, but this means you’re relying on at least a Mac Mini to serve as a data warehouse, which becomes an investment of around $500. It’s a fine solution for backing up an ’s data, but it’s not perfect. For one, uninstalled apps won’t retain their data in iTunes, which means that reinstalling an app on the means starting from scratch. That’s bad , pure and simple.

What should do to address the backup issue is roll out over-the-air syncing, either at the local level with the Time Capsule, or via the with a an enhanced Mobile Me service. A -based iTunes solution would be perfect, allowing you to keep all your media files on ’s servers, and choose which ones to stream or copy to the directly. A Time Capsule solution would work similarly, with the Time Capsule serving up a local web page for accessing it’s own iTunes program for handling media, apps, etc. Both solutions could be implemented at the level, and both would potentially allow users to upgrade their firmware without physically tethering their iPads to a traditional computer.

In the meantime…

We still stand by our assertion that the is a tremendous computer for most people, without them needing a traditional computer at home. This may require visiting the local Store, or a friend, to perform firmware upgrades and the occasional backup. But these are minor inconveniences at best, which will inevitably be addressed by as Mobile OS X evolves.

For the rest of us, who still need a server appliance to make the something more than Average Joe’s computer, the additional investment in a pint-sized server isn’t a deal-breaker, especially when it means that 99% of our non-work computer use is on the itself. Niche requirements like burning CDs and downloading torrents are easily addressed, and can likely be met without shelling out for a Mac Mini like we did, especially with how cheap PCs are these days. Maybe there’s a continuing market for low-cost PCs after all?Similar Posts:

]]> http://mendax.org/2010/05/17/some-people-might-want-a-computer-for-their-ipad/feed/ 0 We’re lovin’ the iPad hate. http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F04%2F06%2Fwere-lovin-the-ipad-hate%2F&seed_title=We%26%238217%3Bre+lovin%26%238217%3B+the+iPad+hate. http://mendax.org/2010/04/06/were-lovin-the-ipad-hate/#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:00:03 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=1993

And we love it because it just makes people sound ignorant, or flat-out trollish. That’s not to say that the wasn’t over-hyped by much of the media and the faithful: in our hands-on with the on release day, it lived up to our expectations but didn’t surpass them. It was definitely cool, we look forward to our 3G version arriving later this month, and getting a chance to play with -specific (the upscaled apps we tried didn’t look great). But the device was heavy – heavier than we thought it would, which doesn’t mean anything other than the fact that we wouldn’t hold it out in front of us for long periods of time, but we didn’t really expect to do that anyway.

But we still think the device is a potential game-changer. HP just announced their pricing and specs for their Slate, and if you think that’s a coincidence in light of the ’s release on Saturday, then you’re high. The Slate, after all, was announced before the , and the Slate has everything to gain after critics’ lukewarm reception of the on Saturday, versus a preemptive announcement that would have been drowned out by the fanfare. But here’s the thing: the Slate is a Windows 7-based machine, and who the fuck wants that? And yes, we’re ignoring from the Slate-drooling-set the people who think they’ll be able to run modern Windows-based games and those who want to get their old-school emulation game on, because the has already been hacked, and we’d sooner trust a jailbroken than a buggy /HP product any day.

But back to the hate, Gruber already refutes Dave Winer on the position that the may fail because its users can’t develop applications for the on the : have shown success for decades despite the fact that none have offered reasonable application development suites on the themselves.

But Winer has other arguments that need addressing, because they’re plain wrong. Especially when this one follows with Winer’s -on--development argument:

It’s definitely not a writing tool. Out of the question. This concerns Jeff Jarvis, rightly so. This is something my mother observed when I demoed it to her on Saturday. Howard Weaver writes that not everyone is a writer. True enough, and not everyone is a voter, but we have an interest in making it easy for people to vote. And not everyone does jury duty, but easy or not, we require it. Writing is important, you never know where creative lightning will strike.

The problem with Winer’s argument(s) isn’t just his stream-of-consciousness blathering, but the missing evidence as to the ’s writing prowess (or lack thereof). Is he basing his argument on the fact that Pages is an extra $10 purchase? Or that a slew of high-quality writing apps isn’t already available on the AppStore? At what point does the fail at writing where other mobile devices (e.g. netbooks) succeed? And don’t start with the multitasking argument, please, because if multitasking isn’t indeed a feature of OS 4.0, then state-saving between apps is still a work-around, especially if load-times between apps is negligible.

Winer goes on to condemn the for not supporting his bookmark synchronization tool of choice: Xmarks. And a sillier argument he couldn’t make, because to judge an product for not supporting a third-party product is as nonsensical as us condemning every Android and Windows-based device because we can’t run Ulysses on them.

Three days into the ’s public availability, we haven’t seen one single, comprehensive review of the where the final verdict isn’t positive. Those like Winer who paint a poor picture of the device either flatly refuse to adapt to the ’s new way of doing things, else simply don’t get it.

But here’s who did get it: when working with a computer illiterate family member this weekend, jumping back and forth between her and MacBook, she touched an icon on the MacBook’s screen, and later an entry field, because it’s a natural thing to do. And that’s the first time when we realized just how intuitive a touch interface is, because it’s finally a better input mechanism than a mouse. And when explaining how apps didn’t need to be installed by disc, and could be downloaded wirelessly, and how the chances of breaking an app, losing windows, overburdening a CPU, et al, we next to nil on the upcoming , our family member wondered why it wasn’t so easy to begin with. Well, now it is, and she and thousands of others will pick an up because it makes more sense than a traditional computer, and she and those thousands of people won’t be concerned with whether or not a random third-party app exists (because they’ll find one on the AppStore to do what they want to do), and won’t worry about developing applications (ever). And that great force will undoubtedly trickle down to the unbelievers who want a lightweight computer, because the reality is, they too can do 99% of what they need a computer for, on the .

And in the meantime, all the winers [sic] will realize that the is as capable a writing machine as most any other.Similar Posts:

]]> http://mendax.org/2010/04/06/were-lovin-the-ipad-hate/feed/ 4 The iPad should interface with the iPhone directly. http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F03%2F29%2Fthe-ipad-should-interface-with-the-iphone-directly%2F&seed_title=The+iPad+should+interface+with+the+iPhone+directly. http://mendax.org/2010/03/29/the-ipad-should-interface-with-the-iphone-directly/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:15:53 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=1990

As we checked out ’s latest guided tours for the , it occurred to us that since the is capable of grabbing photos off digital cameras and memory sticks thanks to the Camera Connection Kit, it should also be able to grab photos from an without having to rely on an intermediary computer. After all, some people’s digital camera is an , and they should be able to transfer pictures to the just as easily as everyone else can.

Yet as we watched these guided tours, we also realized that the ’s Photos app, as cool as it is, doesn’t seem able to do a lot of other things we’d want, such as the ability to tag faces, perform basic editing functions, et al. In other words, the Photos app isn’t mobile replacement for iPhoto as much as it is a way to simply view photos on the go. And that’s a shame, because the shouldn’t be a second (or third) mobile device in one’s bag, but a non-pro notebook replacement.

seems somewhat unsure of just how to market the with this philosophy in mind. For example, while the Photos app seems to suggest that users stick with iPhoto for tagging and editing, they’re told that the versions of the iWork suite are perfect mobile replacements for their normal OS X counterparts. Why the inconsistency?

Productivity-wise, it’s even a bigger shame, because we generally have more time when traveling to address tasks such as tagging, album management, etc, than when we’re at home or at work. The reality is that such photo organization simply doesn’t happen for us unless we’re on the road, and for the immediate future, that means we’d rely on the for these types of tasks. To even argue that an expanded Photos app, with these features present, would somehow threaten iLife sales is laughable, and yet is holding off on adding (or revealing?) such features. Might they release an AppStore-distributed mobile iPhoto app for more money?

Understandably, relying on the normal OS X version of iTunes for synchronizing things likes movies may make sense to a degree (though not for movies taken with an ), but for smaller files, such as music purchased through the iTunes store, users should be able to synchronize the directly with an , else the iTunes store should be changed to allow users to re-download material they’ve already purchased. The AppStore already allows this, but iTunes media seems to be an obstacle for this happening with multimedia.

So unless releases a dock-to-dock connector for synchronizing two mobile OS X devices, we may have to hold out for a media-in-the- solution from , else the long-sought-after wireless synchronization feature people have called for since the ’s debut.Similar Posts:

]]> http://mendax.org/2010/03/29/the-ipad-should-interface-with-the-iphone-directly/feed/ 0 This is why the AppStore will rock the computing world. http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F03%2F26%2Fappstore-will-rock-computing-world%2F&seed_title=This+is+why+the+AppStore+will+rock+the+computing+world. http://mendax.org/2010/03/26/appstore-will-rock-computing-world/#comments Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:30:31 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=1979

Exhibit One: a tilt-shift application built for OS X, which costs $14.99. Purchase from the developer’s web page, install conventionally. Copy installation files manually to run on more than one computer.

Exhibit Two: one of numerous, similar applications for the , which costs $1.99. Purchased from the AppStore, installed accordingly, sync between via iTunes to run on more than one system.

Really, does much more need to be said? The AppStore has a better distribution model, a better pricing model, and with the , arguably a better interface model for using many applications also. With a larger audience of potential users, it’s pretty clear why versions of “normal” apps can earn more money for developers than desktop counterparts.

At this point in the game, we wonder why any developer with even the slightest clue isn’t abandoning desktop application development and embracing the and with complete gusto. Unless we’re talking a niche pro app that needs a desktop for some reason (multiple monitors, more computing power, et al), there’s no reason 99% of applications shouldn’t be headed to the AppStore at full speed.

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]]> http://mendax.org/2010/03/26/appstore-will-rock-computing-world/feed/ 0 Multitasking a death-knell for jailbreaking? http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F03%2F12%2Fmultitasking-a-death-knell-for-jailbreaking%2F&seed_title=Multitasking+a+death-knell+for+jailbreaking%3F http://mendax.org/2010/03/12/multitasking-a-death-knell-for-jailbreaking/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:01:26 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=1966

It was only nine months ago when we wondered whether there was little reason left for jailbreaking an . has continued to move OS X Mobile in a generally positive direction, and rumours of the 4.0 OS version supporting multitasking for certain applications is welcome news.

Per our last mendax.iphone app roundup, we only list six must-have apps requiring a jailbreak, two of which relate to multitasking. What’s left are apps that are situation dependent, with only SBSettings remaining as a “must-have”. This begs the question, “Is it worth jailbreaking after every OS upgrade just to toggle features on/off quicker, and maybe hide icons from the Springboard?” It’s a question we’re asking ourselves now that we’re counting on multiasking appearing sometime this summer. We hate to say it, but our gut reaction is “no.”

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]]> http://mendax.org/2010/03/12/multitasking-a-death-knell-for-jailbreaking/feed/ 0 The iPad is the volkscomputer. http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F02%2F24%2Fthe-ipad-is-the-volkscomputer%2F&seed_title=The+iPad+is+the+volkscomputer. http://mendax.org/2010/02/24/the-ipad-is-the-volkscomputer/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:00:13 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=1950

We love this quote by Ed Finkler, which we spied over at Daring Fireball:

When folks need an elevator, we should give them an elevator, not an airplane. We’ve been giving them airplanes for 30 years, and then laughing at them for being too stupid to fly them right.

Finkler pretty much identifies what’s so great about the . Not necessarily for power users, but for the non-computer nerds out there (i.e. 99% of the populace). An interesting thing we noticed is that most people ( fans and otherwise) weren’t particularly enthralled by the when it was officially announced last month, but many have warmed to the idea since, despite the fact that hasn’t revealed anything further on the device.

The is already being called a “task-oriented” device, rather than what most are today: complex, prone to user-induced slow-down, and a great method to run multiple tasks at once. The benefit to this latter factor, however, remains questionable, and it’s certainly not a stipulation that 99% of the population needs.

The “old way” of thinking, insofar as computer development goes, is to build upon what’s already been done. Look at : how many iterations of DOS were there before Windows, and how long did it take before Windows 95 stood on its own with DOS as a secondary consideration? And even though a windowing system made more sense to the average computer user, it wasn’t necessarily less complicated, because the underlying system was still exposed to a degree. Even OS X, which we consider the most usable desktop OS for the non-nerd isn’t entirely sensible out-of-box. For instance, we haven’t met a new OS X user yet who understands without our mention that closing a window in OS X doesn’t close the program. It’s not just as case of “Fuck, multitasking is hard,” nor one of simply staying attuned to visual indicators on the dock that a given applications, even sans windows, is still resident in memory. It’s an issue of multitasking (that is, at the user level) being mostly unnecessary in the first place. So why burden the user with cleaning up finite memory space, when all they want to do is write a letter while listening to some music in the background?

Why’d become the platform of choice when PC offered better opportunities well before, say, first person shooters (FPS) ever grabbed the public’s attention? How many now-legendary FPS traveled through gamers’ hard drives before Goldeneye became a flashing success on the Nintendo 64? PC didn’t catch on because it was difficult, not in the gameplay sense, but in the setup sense. Under DOS, it wasn’t just a matter of installing a game, it was a matter of wrangling enough free memory to play it. For those of who who can’t remember tweaking the shit out of config.sys and autoexec.bat, you have no idea what lengths gamers will go through just to play the awesomest title ever. Messing with those two files became an art, one that’s now lost to time.

The point is, when it comes to , you pop a disc or cartridge into the console, and can start only moments later. When it comes to mundane computer tasks like laying out some pictures to send as a homemade Christmas card, users shouldn’t have to jump through a half-dozen screens just to install a new program after coming home from the computer store. Nor should they have to worry that once they’re done, they’ve left something running that will slow their computer to a crawl days later, because it ends up being one of ten things they didn’t realize stayed running in the background.

The is simple. All apps come from one place, and that place doesn’t require any physical travel. There’s no messing with a file system hierarchy, and when you leave a program, it’s closed down or simply doesn’t affect other tasks in the background. It’s not only simple, but straightforward.

A machine for everyone.

We’ve said before that the should serve most computer users admirably, without the need for another computer. Truth is, it’s not just grandma and grandpa who could benefit from the . If you think about it, most college students can do everything they need to with an also. The only stipulation are those who study and need more oomph, like Computer Science majors who need a platform they can develop on. For everyone else, the only potential obstacle is specialized , but with the power behind the A4, we’d argue that most specialized applications could probably be ported to the without issue. How long before CAD programs, analytical , etc makes it onto the AppStore? Sure, there will always be a small segment of the computer-using populace that will have to rely on an incredibly specific package that the respective developer refuses to port, but with accessibility the AppStore offers, and the support provides for an external keyboard, the sky is ultimately the limit for most programs.

While some applications will still shine brighter if they can be run on systems with larger screen sizes, this too isn’t necessarily an issue: an A/V cable may provide video-out for just these types of applications. For everyone else, including those who currently rely on 13″ screens for daily work, the is already capable of serving as a lightweight workhorse. And for those that do need more powerful machines, there’s always the local school lab, office computer, etc.

If the proves itself successful (and we think it will), it’s only a matter of time before the / platform is expanded to devices with larger screens. For all we know, the heralded the birth of a new computer interface altogether, and it may not be more than a couple years before ’s primary computer lineup looks more like the , and less like a Macbook.Similar Posts:

]]> http://mendax.org/2010/02/24/the-ipad-is-the-volkscomputer/feed/ 0 Transitioning to an iPad workflow. http://mendax.org/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Posts+%28RSS2%29&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fmendax.org%2F2010%2F02%2F23%2Ftransitioning-to-an-ipad-workflow%2F&seed_title=Transitioning+to+an+iPad+workflow. http://mendax.org/2010/02/23/transitioning-to-an-ipad-workflow/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:37:38 +0000 WyldKard http://mendax.org/?p=1946

We’ve long complained about toting our 17″ MacBook Pro around when we travel. The purchase was solid when we wanted a top-performing mobile Mac for , with the occasional trip requiring relative transportability. Since we’re traveling more and less these days, the bulk of lapzilla has caused us to look for a replacement, and we held off on picking up a used MacBook Air, or a newer (and smaller) MacBook, because we expected the to show up soon. And now that it has, we’ve made some definitive decisions on how we intend to handle our computing workflow.

Unfortunately, the can’t replace our MacBook Pro by itself. Still, for most computing tasks, the seems to fit the bill. Like the , it has all the makings of a good internet client for most tasks. With a larger screen and the likelihood that other internet apps (e.g. chat clients) will be ported to make use of it, surfing the digital waves shouldn’t be a problem, save for multitasking restrictions which many people expect to be relieved in a future OS version (4.0?). What’s left is some method to write, and with a $10 version of Pages designed specifically for the , this base also appears to be covered. This means that other text editors will undoubtedly show up on the in the future (ad be useable!), to include those with syntax highlighting for developers, as well as those designed for creative writers (like our favorite, Ulysses).

With text editing and internet use out of the way, we’re left with a couple tasks that the can’t do on its own (at least not in its present state).

Future features?

Camera/tablet integration: We already talked about this yesterday, so won’t go into it again. Suffice to say, the opportunities for integration with other peripherals is there, be it the iSight and tablet we already mentioned, game controllers, the PowerMate, etc.

Selective screen-grabs: While the and Touch have an easy method for grabbing screenshots (which the will likely inherent), the method is simple: it grabs a full-size screenshot. Sure, we can open this screenshot in a photo-editing app and crop out what we need, but that’s not as elegant a solution as using, say, Skitch. Even if user-defined multi-tasking presents itself in a future OS revision, we have to remember that there will still likely be restrictions on it. While editing screenshots manually to crop out content is not a deal breaker for us, we hope refines the screenshot method on its mobile devices, to allow users the option of, say, drawing out the area they want to capture (say, with a lasso tool), else simply clicking on the screen to capture it in its entirety.

Either way, the should present a quick and easy way to grab parts of a screen, be it part of the OS, or possible by running an app in the background (like a ported version of Skitch).

Why we still need a Mac.

iTunes: Obviously, this is the big obstacle for most people. It’s not an issue for many computer users, like grandma and grandpa, but for people already vested in the Mac world, it’s likely that there’s a media library that can’t be managed on the alone. These users, like us, need a way to hook the up to a core iTunes media repository, and selectively copy media onto the for whatever upcoming trips or time periods are pertinent.

With no announced way for the to important media from a source other than the iTunes store (and pictures/video from SD/USB sources via the camera adapter kit), the may also rely on a Mac for its optical drive. Otherwise, users won’t be able to rip CDs and DVDs to transfer their media onto their newest toy.

Server tasks/file-sharing: Seeing as apps were removed from the AppStore that merely controlled BitTorrent clients that actually resided on a Mac, it’s unlikely that we’ll see actual peer-to-peer (P2P) apps in the AppStore, particularly when is trying to fervently control the distribution of media via the iTunes store. Even if we could run, say, a version of Transmission built for the , it’d be a little silly unless we’re using it at home via wifi. Without a jailbreak-enabled application like 3G Unrestrictor, we ought not bank on /AT&T letting us download large files, and the download speeds on 3G would be pathetic anyway. This doesn’t even account for the ’s small storage capacity. So for those of you seeking to grab media via .torrent files or other methods, the alone won’t be your savior. Same goes for pretty much any other server-related tasks.

File processing: Betwixt P2P and iTunes media management is the issue of file processing, be it in the conversion of video files so they can be played via the iTunes app, or simply unzipping them in the first place. Really, it’s simple: if the media you want is not from the iTunes store, then the itself won’t cut it.

There’s also the issue of very niche apps or those that will be impossible to get through the AppStore approval process. Emulators, utilities for connecting to, say, a console, or even just custom scripts for accomplishing file renaming or other tasks.

Solution?

For us, the solution is rather obvious. For the few tasks we do need a Mac for, we can run a mostly headless Mac Mini tucked away somewhere. We’ll probably just use our HDTV as a monitor for when we need to do more than handle automated tasks (e.g. updating our / firmware), and access it via one of our mobile devices thanks to one of the many mouse/keyboard apps already in the AppStore, else the bluetooth keyboard we’ll pick up for the anyway. The Mac Mini will handle all our iTunes media management tasks, as well as whatever media processing we might need to do. (We just lost our iTunes library, so we need to rip all our old CDs again, for example.)

In the event that we don’t want to use the HDTV as a monitor (such as when the TV is already in use), we can always access the Mac Mini via the thanks to utilities like VNC. Or, we can just have a small LCD handy (which we do, thanks to our discontinued carputer project). With this setup, it’s doubtful we even need a mouse.

Apps we’d like ported to the .

With a Mac Mini powering what we can best describe as stationary tasks done at home, and usually with little needed interaction, we can focus on the apps we’d like to see transition over to the , or simply be improved versions of existing AppStore apps. While we’re convinced that we can get by with the on release, there are definitely things (like multitasking) that will be necessary to make our workflow as fluid as, if not more fluid than, the work we do on the MacBook Pro when on the road.

Adium/Conversation/iChat: We never did quite settle on a single chat application, though we predominantly use iChat because of the iSight integration. Regardless, we’d like to see AppStore chat clients move over to the ’s larger-screen format, else see apps like Adium be ported to the . Multitasking for an app like this would be ideal, but let’s at least be able to see chats in multiple protocols.

Bento: There’s already a mobile version of Bento available, and we expect an version to come out that would pretty much duplicate the features of the desktop version. The folks who develop Bento have confirmed that an version will be in the works.

JBidwatcher: Our preferred eBay sniper. Ideally, we wouldn’t need to access it remotely on the Mac Mini, but could tote it around and rely on 3G to keep us sniping (assuming we have multitasking, of course). JBidwatcher’s developer would like to bring the program over to the /, but the multitasking issue remains.

MacFamilyTree: Another app with a mobile version already on the AppStore. The would be perfect for showcasing a full-featured version of this app, and the developer supports the idea.

PandoraJam: Given what it does (rips audio from Pandora), it’s unlikely we’ll ever see this on the . Even if we did see it, there likely wouldn’t be a method to copy songs over to the iTunes library, so we’d have to rely on the Mac Mini to copy audio from the app to the server iTunes library, and then re-sync the . An easier solution would simply be to run PandoraJam as part of a media center setup. (Still, we’re listing it anyway because we’d love it to work somehow.)

Pixelmator: Image editing apps on the are already coming into their own, with many desktop features. If we could get something like Pixelmator on the , though, it’d be fantastic.

Ulysses: A mobile version was already announcement, so hopefully the developers, now aware of the new SDK, will port most of the Mac version’s functionality over to the .

Vassal: Okay, this isn’t part of our work flow per se, but we were recently re-introduced to this wargaming platform and can see how awesome it would be on the . Someone please work on this!

VoodooPad: Another app with a mobile version already existing (which only lets one read files, unfortunately), we expect the developers to release a more full-featured version for the . Our use of VoodooPad has waned over time, in part because there’s no way to edit the files on the . We may come back to this app now, though.Similar Posts:

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