Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern. Let’s hope that Apple can stay away from becoming a trendy at producing bad Web 2.0 applications. I’ve always been disappointed with Mobile Me and its rather lackluster feature set via the web interface.
iWork.com has followed up with an even less impressive display of Web 2.0 savvy in their online document sharing tool for Apple’s office suite of products. But in a world with Google Docs, Office Online, cloud disk storage, simply providing a means to exchange documents isn’t enough. Here are my list of items that need to be fixed in both Mobile Me and iWork.com to make Apple even mentioned in the world of online solutions.
On the web mobile mellow me to check IMAP mail from other services. Nobody wants an e-mail account associated with an annual fee
Allow me to subscribe to calendars via the Mobile Me web interface as well
$99 bucks a year and you give me 10 gigs of space? Really?
Create plug-in support for other applications. Doesn’t have to be fully featured, but it be nice to have some sort of plugin-architecture where mobile me can really serve like a desktop
iWork.com needs more collaboration features. Even if it’s just allowing me to download a doc, make changes and re-upload them. Allowing people to only make notes makes e-mail a far more efficient system
It would be nice to be able to edit the document online, but I’ll settle for the revision control. Just want to be clear that online modification is still a desirable
While these aren’t the types of things that will make Mobile Me an overnight Google killer. They are however the things that need to happen for it to even be in the realm of possibilities. I love Google, but I”m still not signed up for this complete shift to the Web. I think Apple (or even Microsoft for that matter) is positioned well for the near future with a hybrid of desktop and web applications that can pass data back and forth. It’s probably more important for Apple due to Microsoft really being the standard around the globe. If I go to the library or need to do something from my job, I may not have access to a Mac.
iWork.com is still in Beta, so there is hope that before it goes gold that some of these features are implemented. As far as Mobile Me goes, I’ve always got the impression that it was a sort of pet project (much like the Apple TV) that doesn’t warrant the attention of Steve Jobs. And as Apple fans know, if Steve doesn’t care, neither does Apple.
For those of us who are still using DirecTV, you can now rejoice. A DirecTV application to record your shows via your DVR has finally arrived. The application is called (aptly) DirecTV and sports a very straightforward interface.
You can find television shows via search by channel or by date and time. The nice thing is that in the Settings panel you can set it to only display channels that you subscribe to. (Very helpful) The interface feels like a solid iPhone app, which based on my previous experience with DirecTV is more of a credit to the Apple SDK than to the DirecTV developers.
Once you find a show, you can set it to record the episode or record the entire series. You can also select which DVR should record it (if you own multiple), give the recording a priority of “Record if Possible” or “Definitely Record”. This works in tandem with the Prioritizer feature in the DVR, which helps dictate what shows get recorded in the event of a recording conflict. You can also set the “Keep Until” option to “Disk is Full” or “I Delete It”.
Will you handle all your recordings with this application? My guess is you probably not, but if you’re on the go and forgot about that episode of Grey’s Anatomy than you’ll be happy that you have it.
The application is free and works over EDGE/3G and Wifi. The application was fairly snappy for me on EDGE as well, so even though I don’t own a 3G phone I’m sure the performance will be solid.
Gadget fans are some of the most entertaining people to read about and observe. They will design their dream device and pump up how badly a company needs to put a product out. Then when the product comes out, there’s some reason why they can’t, won’t or shouldn’t buy it. It’s this same reason that Apple will never make your beloved tablet machine.
The tablet rumors are at full roar again, thanks to a story posted by AppleInsider which has revealed that our boys in Cupertino have placed a rather large order for 10 inch touch screen displays. Anytime Apple creates a press event, there’s always some maniacal blogger out there who thinks it’s the infamous yet strangely elusive tablet machine from Apple.
But let’s be honest, where would a tablet machine fit in Apple’s product category? Actually I’ll do you one better, where does it fit in your own product category? Isn’t the iPhone your tablet mac already? What void does a tablet machine fill in terms of actual usage, other than a cool looking device? (Medical records aside) Bill Gates has been pimping the tablet for as long as I can remember and I don’t see subways filled with tablet owners.
Everything you do with a tablet in any reasonable sense, can be, and is already being done with the iPhone. You’re not going to carry around a shit-ton of peripherals with you. OK, so you might stream some youtube videos. Is the $2,000 dollars it would probably cost, really worth it? Chances are you’ll use a tablet mac the same way you use your iPhone only bigger. That sets the product up for a super niche market, and a small one at that. We know that, but more importantly Apple knows that. Needless to say I doubt seriously that the mystery 10′ inch screens will be used for a Sasquatch rendition of a mac.
To be fair, it’s not cool for me to shit all over your hopes and dreams without offering my own viewpoint on the subject. As much as I hate to admit it, my roommate gave me the idea behind this. My guess is…you ready for this…..
An e-book reader.
Probably not as big of a reveal as it was in my head. And I would bet dollars to donuts Apple won’t be in the book scanning business either. They’re going to license the Kindle format and hook into the Amazon book store. It’s not secret that the Kindle really isn’t the money maker. The real money maker is the content, and having Apple design a device that is elegant, user friendly and slathered in that Apple “chic” maybe just what the e-book business needs.
Publishers should be keeping an eye out for this and if possible cheering it on. Digital distribution means cheaper production. Cheaper production means you can take a risk on that new hot shot writer who unfortunately has no sales track record.
My only fear is that the Apple “chic” sauce comes at a hefty price. But an Apple logo might be all that’s needed to succeed where the Kindle has failed many of us.
If you’re a Mac user you’re probably accustomed to the way CMD + TAB works on the map; frankly, it sucks. It doesn’t maximize minimized windows and you can’t cycle through windows, just applications. Witch will fix that for you.
This to give you a quick primer on who I am and what you’ll get from me on Twitter. So here’s a brief rundown about me and my style.
I got the idea for this from my buddy Scott, who got it from our buddy Leah, who probably invented this knowledge because she’s a genius.
Work Life
I’m a Systems Administrator by day. I work in a testing environment so I’m working on tons of different technologies all the time. I love tech and occasionally like to gripe on Twitter. I may throw out the occasional technical question or two.
I’m a former manager who has gone back to his technical roots. But occasionally I feel like talking about management stuff just for efficiencies sake. From time to time you’ll hear me discuss change management, defect tracking, organizational structure, etc.
Internet Life
I’m co-founder of the Chicago Nerd Social Club, a club dedicated to promoting nerd-centric events in the city of Chicago.
I love Web 2.0 and social networking. You’ll see me link videos, talk about new websites and web technologies. You might even get updates from other social networking sites that integrate with Twitter. The biggest one I can think of now is BrightKite.
I host 2 podcasts and I’m possibly looking at a 3rd. My topics include comic books, video games, dungeons and dragons, movies, television, and technology. Sometimes the conversations on the show start on Twitter.
I love meeting and helping people that I come across on the world wide web. So I’m active in meetups, twitter groups etc.
Personal Life
Most of my personal life is on the Internet. =) I love to laugh and will share funny experiences or anecdotes that I come across in my daily travels.
I read a lot of comic books and a lot of technical manuals. f you’re not into either of those it could bore you to tears.
Love me some XBOX 360
I run a 4th edition D&D game every other week. Sometimes I’ll gripe about the system
I love Star Trek and Star Wars in that order. I also love their extended universes
I am an admitted Apple Fan boy.
I also love to Twitter about what my girlfriend and I are doing. That’s mainly for our folks back home in Upstate New York but your welcome to follow us too.
That’s me. You’ll get some of that both on Twitter and on my blog. If your interests match up you may want to subscribe to my podcast as well. (*WINK* *NUDGE*) I hope to see you on them Internets sometime!
Over the years I’ve assimilated a number of people into the collective hive mind of Apple users. But some users aren’t engrossed in the culture as others and may miss some beautiful applications.
I’m here to share one such application called TextExpander by smileonmymac.com. If you’re not familiar with the app, take a look and see if it’ll help you out!
So the news is out all over the Interwebs that Steve Jobs will not be giving the keynote address at Macworld. The Macworld event has long been heralded as the time when Apple will change the computer industry for the coming year. But in reality the Macworld announcements should be looked at more like a baseball player with a.300 batting average. Yeah he’s good, but when you actually LOOK at history he’s only on base 30% of the time. The Macworld keynote functions in much the same way.
I’m not surprised by the news and contrary to investor beliefs, I don’t believe this has anything to do with Steve’s health. There are 2 key reasons why Steve will be streaming the keynote from home. It’s the last year that Apple will participate in the Macworld event. (Apple is NOT the organizer of Macworld so the show will continue) Trade shows have been dwindling in their usefulness and their participation level in recent years. Macworld isn’t the only trade show in trouble and Apple isn’t the only big vendor bailing. Adobe has decided not to do any exhibits at Macworld as well. In these troubled economic times (take a drink) companies are finding more ways to trim and cut costs. When looking at a balance sheet the trade shows are an easy decision considering the cost of booths. The cost/benefit ratio just isn’t there any more and has become more PR than an actual revenue generator.
The other reason is more simple. Apple doesn’t have anything to announce. Each year bloggers, podcasters, journalist, analysts, we all go ape shit trying to figure out how Apple is going to change our every day life. The fact that they’re delivering the keynote makes us even more rabid in our hunt for news. But Apple doesn’t release a device like the iPhone every year. Not to mention Apple would probably prefer to handle their own product announcements so that they can do it, I don’t know, maybe BEFORE the holiday season?
So I’ll put hard earned cash on it. Right here, right now, you read it here first. Apple’s keynote at Macworld will be a snoozer. No major updates, no earth shattering events. We might see a refresh of the Mac-mini or something like that. We’ve all been scratching our heads wondering what the big word is going to be in January and I think Steve’s decision to bail gives us our answer. So enough with the rumors of Steve’s health. (Although the boy could use some meat) You always skip out on a party when nothing’s happening. Steve’s no different.
If they deliver some ground breaking new product in January then I will eat my words and say a prayer for Steve. Until then I think the man just has a classic case of malnutrition.
Well it sounds like the boys at Cupertino are still in hot shit from the MobileMe debacle. I got this e-mail from Apple today.
MobileMe Update
We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users’ patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe’s launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around. Read this article for more details.
The MobileMe Team
So that’s a total of 3 months free thanks to MobileMe not quite working the way it should be. Luckily I barely use the web services and that seems to be where most of the problems live. It’s great the Apple is recognizing that they let us down and are trying to make good. But the bottom line is if you don’t have an iPhone, all of the services provided by MobileMe could be cobbled together from free services.
That sounds like a good idea for a post. Free MobileMe. I’m on it!
There has been a lot of debate in my household lately about the viability of the iPhone as the greatest cell phone platform ever created. The argument is typically started by half-wanted house guests who work for cell phone companies, but I digress. I know the iPhone doesn’t do video. It doesn’t do copy and paste. It doesn’t do MMS. It doesn’t do turn by turn GPS. It doesn’t have a secret container for hoagies in case you get hungry later. The arguments have centered around what the phone doesn’t do and why would I want something so feeble. Well I’m going to take you through a normal day with my iPhone and show you why I think it’s the single device that I can’t live without.
Since becoming an official Apple Zealot about 4 or 5 years ago, I’m constantly amazed and in awe of it’s power. I’ve been robbed of my senses on many different occasions by that shifty Steve Jobs fellow. I’ve lived a life filled with DRM but gave it a pass because “I only use Apple Products”. I think every Mac fanboy from time-to-time goes through these “moments of clarity” and sees themselves as a breathing embodiment of what is wrong with the Internet. Today is definitely a moment of clarity for me. Sort of.
Every major tech news site has been covering the “announcement” from the Apple shareholders call that profit margins would be a little tight as Apple prepared for a “revolutionary” new product. (Notice the quotes. I’m chuck full of skepticism today) Steve knows what he’s doing here. He’s firing the starting pistol for every single Mac rumors site that exists. (And they did not disappoint)
Apple is notoriously close to the chest with news on its product launches. This creates a never ending frenzy amongst Apple fans but also creates fear and caution whenever buying a new Apple product. It also gives sites like macrumors.com and appleinsider.com a reason for existing. (Hypocrite Disclaimer: I love both these sites) The problem with rumor sites however is that the majority of the time they’re wrong. Every once in awhile they get it right though and that instantly gives credibility to their next stab at some mythical product idea. You always see these great little bits:
According to a MacDailyNews source who leaked wireless iTunes a week before its official announcement….
Isn’t it lovely? As a fan boy it sends a subliminal override code to your sense of reason. They could announce that Steve Jobs is Christ reincarnate and you’d instantly say “Well I mean come on. They got WIRELESS iTunes right!”
The problem with these bits of “leaked” information is this. It’s a lot easier to imagine a product than it is to engineer it. So while some bloke at MacDailyNews can come up with the most awesome combination of iPod, cell phone, television, salad fork and dishwasher product during his lunch break, it’s a lot harder for Apple to actually produce it. Fan boys like me are really excited during major events like MacWorld or WWDC just to say be a *little* disappointed when my iPhone doesn’t have a Febreeze dispenser like Apple Insider said it would.
It’s great to have a rabid fan base. I know whenever that happens you’ll have people waiting to manipulate their emotions for personal gain. Kind of like hookers. But at the same time it puts the company many of us love dearly into a tough spot because it becomes impossible to live up to some of the hopes and dreams of the fans.
So remember when you’re reading a rumor site, (including this one) take everything with a grain of salt. You never know when they might be blowing sunshine up your ass.
OK I can’t help myself. This MacTouch looks AWESOME. Steve better deliver in October or he will fall. OK back to not believing the hype. I just had to get that out.
Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern. Let’s hope that Apple can stay away from becoming a trendy at producing bad Web 2.0 applications. I’ve always been disappointed with Mobile Me and its rather lackluster feature set via the web interface. 
Since becoming an official Apple Zealot about 4 or 5 years ago, I’m constantly amazed and in awe of it’s power. I’ve been robbed of my senses on many different occasions by that shifty Steve Jobs fellow. I’ve lived a life filled with DRM but gave it a pass because “I only use Apple Products”. I think every Mac fanboy from time-to-time goes through these “moments of clarity” and sees themselves as a breathing embodiment of what is wrong with the Internet. Today is definitely a moment of clarity for me. Sort of.
