Good compare of iPhone versus Android ‘multitasking’ - in the end, quite similar under the covers, but some differences http://bit.ly/doHnfp
‘Natural’ gestures, ThinkPads, and (perhaps) bodily fluids
One of my big concerns around all of this ‘natural interface’ crap is that there’s a huge fragmentation going on in gesture recognition. Just among the Apple fold, there’s a set for the iPhone, a superset of that for the iPad, some slightly different ones for the MacBooks, and yet another group for the Magic Mouse or whatever the hell it’s called.
But I digress. The real point is that this gesture just scares the crap out of me. I’m getting carpal tunnel just looking at it. The only ‘natural’ analog to this one is choking the living daylights out of a small rodent that has run across your keyboard, is currently standing on the space bar, and is in the process of doing it’s own ‘natural’ gestures on your touchpad - quite possibly one that involves bodily fluids.
labs.moto.com » Blog Archive » Robot Touchscreen Analysis
Wow, that’s damning. Glad I didn’t go for the Droid.
Pocket gadgets now include a paper clip, for swapping SIM between iPhone and Nexus One
Love the company name (“Massively Overrated”) so much that I splurged $1.99 (gasp) for their Fontwars iPhone game http://bit.ly/5lEu6f
iPhone’s Missing Feed Reader shawnblanc.net/?p=1925 … all this talk about RSS, but I can’t stand chromeless content. I like web pages.
Meat stylus for the iPhone
“That’s why Apple’s entire developer ecosystem is different, because believe it or not, Apple’s developers are amazing designers that make beautiful things, and they happen to know how to code. That’s entirely different from someone who’s the best coder in the world and trying to create something that looks, works, and feels great.”
Google Android Personal Thoughts « Boy Genius Report
Don’t necessarily agree with the entire article, but that quote is spot-on.
Now available: Create with Context launches Windspire Me, an iPhone app to measure wind and promote wind energy http://bit.ly/7YJzVl
And with a *POP*, the iPhone is no more
Man, this just isn’t the week for consumer electronics. First the digital camera went through the washer, and now my son’s iPhone is no more.
It all started out innocently enough: I had connected the iPhone to my MacBook to sync and charge, and was sitting there working away. A slightly over-zealous mouse movement bumped the phone, which moved all of half of an inch to tap the base of the nearby antique (read: dangerous! loose wires!) desk lamp.
Then, through the magic of electricity, there was a quick *POP* sound, and a tiny wisp of smoke. The aluminum case of the iPhone (original 8GB, purchased Day 1) tapped the metal of the lamp, and a nice circuit was made: wall outlet > lamp > iPhone > USB cable > MacBook > power adapter > wall outlet. Real nifty.
End result?
- Nice arc weld marks on both products
- Lamp is headed for the trash bin
- iPhone is DOA
- Left USB port on MacBook is dead
- Son is minus one phone
What’s next this week?
Why isn’t anyone selling a snap-on iPhone accessory that’s a joystick, D-pad, and a bunch of buttons, then providing an open API to devs?
The Original Palm Mirror … for the iPhone?
As you might have noticed in the sidebar, utilware.com is the home of the Original Palm Mirror, for what that’s worth. Of course, there have been several dozen other Palm mirrors - and iPhone mirrors - since the halcyon green-tinted days of the original Palm.
But have you ever been sitting there, looking longingly at your iPhone, nostalgic for the days of seeing your mug in the reflection of a Palm III? Or perhaps a sleek Palm V? Or maybe even for the outlines of your visage bathed in the softly glowing rays of a setting August sun, reflected in the screen of a Palm VII?
Well, you might just be in luck again sometime soon, for The Mirror has been built, and may just be submitted to the App Store in the next few days.
Create with Context in CIO Magazine on the Five Qualities of a Great iPhone App: http://bit.ly/4eSEY5
Virgin Atlantic Flying without Fear app
So Virgin Atlantic has an interesting app that helps people overcome their fears of flying. I was researching the app for an upcoming media discussion, and thought it was pretty interesting: what are all the onboard sounds, what happens if the engines fail, etc. But then the “What’s new in this version” caught my eye: “Minor crashes fixed”. Priceless.
