As we move closer to the launch of the (probably awful) Facebook phone, let’s examine just what the social network and its ilk have created. Millions of us use these new tools to joke, flirt and share memories, but just as many of us use these tools much to our disadvantage. In some ways, however, that is making things better for all of us. → Read More
Apple news is like a media black hole. It sucks all of the other announcements out of the atmosphere and overshadows all other news for a good twenty-four hours. Even the mainstream guys get in on the act, with local newscasts establishing beachheads at Apple stores around the world where a jokey anchor phones in a quickie with HQ talking about those wacky iPads and how they wish their iPhone… → Read More
Shanzai performed some decidedly sober analysis of the tablet market and came away with one simple conclusion: no matter how much LG boasts, no matter how much Samsung leaks, no matter how many Notion Inks ship, the tablet market is sewn up this year. Why? Because no one will have product in pipeline for the holidays and thus the only things selling in the slate form factor will be the Kindle… → Read More
A recent interview with the developers of the upcoming X-COM reboot confirmed what every true X-COM fan always feared: that the game existed before they decided to make it X-COM, and 2K seems to have laid on the license as an extra layer. The game may still be good, of course, but it won’t be X-COM, and now that 2K has hijacked the name, it is much less likely that the beloved, neglected… → Read More
John C. Dvorak rails against the LAPD’s $7 million dollar email deal with Google. I agree that $7 million is a lot of money to spend on email, but I don’t know all the details of the deal, so I’m not going to cast too many aspersions there. I will, however, take Dvorak to task for his knee-jerk reaction to “hire three programmers and an IT guy”. End users expect email to just work, and have been… → Read More
I often wonder if plumbers reach a point in their career, after cleaning clogged drain after clogged drain, that they begin to hate plumbing. They hate pipes. They hate plumber’s putty. They hate all the tricks they’ve learned over the years, and they hate the need to have to learn tricks. It’s plumbing, for goodness sake: pipes fitting together and substances flowing through… → Read More
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple months, you know that Toyota has had problems with sudden acceleration of some of its vehicles. Apparently, the root cause of the problem is still unknown, which is a little troubling to the average consumer. Toyota claims to be doing everything they can to investigate, but that doesn’t seem to be enough. Now everyone and their brother… → Read More
I don’t have an iPhone. And I’m happy with my other devices. But while I laugh at AT&T issues, mock iPhone users for lacking features I have on Android, and so on, there has always been one thing I’ve been desperately jealous of: the touchscreen.
Now, I’ve had my share of touchscreens of all sizes and shapes. I’ve demoed phones and devices of varying quality for years. And somehow, Apple got… → Read More
I’m just going to take it. That’s right, Comcast. This is me, waving my white flag. I’m not going to complain to you any more. Why did I even try in the first place? It’s like trying to erode Mount Rainier with licks. So from here on out, I’m just going to take it. All the outages, all the fees, all 20 levels of customer service. Who was I kidding, anyway? → Read More
I just had a visit from a courteous and helpful (really) Comcast guy that was quite illuminating. You see, a few months ago I had a new cable modem installed, since my old one was freezing up every few minutes. The guy who came then happened to have an extra modem in his van of the correct spec and installed it right away. Everything was fine until a week or two ago, when I started losing… → Read More
I suck at GoldenEye. There, I’ve said it. I get schooled every time I play, even if I’m Odd Job. And chances are, everyone who reads this is better than me at Halo, Killzone, and pretty much every other console FPS. That’s just an upfront disclosure in case you want to skip this post and get right to the flaming. After all, I’m just writing this because I’m bad at… → Read More
Here in Seattle, there isn’t enough room to swing a cat without hitting an open wi-fi access point. During lapses in my own internet service (damn you, Comcast) I have gotten by on my neighbors’, or one of the dozen cafes or bars within half a mile that have free, unfettered internet access. In fact, it’s become a sort of lifestyle I and other Seattleites subscribe to, flitting… → Read More
I’ll make this quick. I’ve heard two or three independent sources saying that the new iMac’s screen is “better than HD.” Let’s examine that claim for a moment here. If HD is 1920×1080 and the iMac is 2560×1440, then yes, it is better than HD. But why would you make that claim when most monitors over 22 inches are at least that resolution? I’ve… → Read More
Yesterday, word got out of Apple’s new iFrame standard, which purports to expedite video editing by keeping the video in “the same format used on a computer.” Really, it’s nothing but a resolution and wrapper. So why am I losing my mind over it? Because the way iFrame is being positioned and propagated is misleading and harmful to consumers. Oh I know, what an alarmist… → Read More
Why would you do this, Apple? I know you don’t like the usual resolutions out there, but did you have to go and throw another one on the pile? That’s why there are so many competing formats in the first place. 960×540 H264 MP4? Sure, I could select those specifications if I wanted them, but why would I? Most cameras shoot to VGA or 720p now. Why would you decide to popularize a… → Read More
A year from now, or maybe two, when Sony has actually figured out what it’s doing with its online store, managed copies, and other details, the PSP Go might just be a good buy. Of course, they will have to lower the price by a hundred dollars, and I don’t think 16GB is going to cut it for long, and they’ll want to upgrade the wireless hardware too. But once those things are… → Read More
First, we all need to shut up because we don’t know the facts. When (if) more is revealed, then we can talk about it with confidence, anything less is sensationalism — not that we’re any strangers to that. But argument from ignorance is an insult to everyone involved. Second, we need to shut up because it has nothing to do with Apple, or Foxconn for that matter. It has to do with big… → Read More
In a show of forward thinking stifled by corporate lethargy, it seems that Sony had a PSP Go planned since 2004 but didn’t think the infrastructure was ready for it.
Well, Sony, you missed the boat on that one. As usual, you took the low-risk, low-reward path and as usual I’m going to mock you for it. Because you know what else wasn’t ready when it came out? The Wii. Maybe you’ve heard of it? → Read More
I like Sony. Who doesn’t? They’ve got a lot of great games, they’re leaders in technology and research, they have their fingers in lots of good pies, and so on. But if they keep pulling this kind of garbage, they’re going to be begging for mercy from the rest of the industry in five years. “At the end of the day, the iPhone is just a phone,” says Kaz Hirai. → Read More
Seriously. I’ve seen this all over the internet. Mossberg reviews the Pre, makes one questionably-phrased mention of the upcoming iPhone, and suddenly it’s confirmed? Let’s look at the sentence:
I’d note that the new iPhone to be unveiled next week will have lots of added features that could alter those calculations.
Consider that the second sentence of Mossberg’s review is “A new, improved… → Read More
An “also-ran” is, literally, “a horse that does not win, place, or show in a race.” The world loves an underdog but it never loves an also-ran. It forgets about an also-ran.
And so we reach nearly the end of Palm Pre madness and I’m afraid to report that after all the magic, all the tears, all the joy the Palm Pre will be just another phone. It won’t save Palm, it won’t change paradigms, and it… → Read More
I’m curious. How do normal people – non geeks – survive in this gadget filled world? It’s a fair question as nearly every gadget or piece of technology I have used in the last few years required days of Google’n and trial/error usage before the damn thing would finally work. Maybe I’m different than most and actually expect gadgets to work properly.
Thinking back, the only semi-advance gadget… → Read More
I started this rant last night and kind of realized it didn’t make much sense. However, eagle-eyed reader SteveJabs headed down to CC and confirmed my suspicions: there are no deals to be had at Circuit City.
I thought I would meander over to the City of Circuits today and see what all was going down with this “blowout selling.” As predicted they are screwing people over on many things but I… → Read More
So Steve isn’t dying, he’s just thin. WSJ got a note from Steve describing his malady as some sort of nutritional/hormonal problem and, it seems, all is right with the world. First, the note.
Dear Apple Community,
For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.
Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil… → Read More
Quick Version: The Samsung Rant is an excellent phone for text messaging addicts who want to be able to do a bit of light web browsing over a high speed data network but don’t want all the feature overload of a full-fledged smartphone. And at $49.99 with a two-year contract, it’s priced to move. Click through for the full review. → Read More
It’s one thing for Hollywood to lack ingenuity these days, but why is it spilling over into the game industry? Don’t get me wrong: we’re all drinking the kool-aid and enjoying ourselves, but have we all become so complacent that we’ll give in to whatever is thrown at us? Nothing seems to garner a groundbreaking adjective before or after its title anymore. → Read More
There are some sweet mobile phones coming out over the next few months and a BGR crony turned up release dates for Best Buy’s hotest upcoming phones. The info comes off of a PowerPoint slide and reveals quite a bit. Coming October 26th: Sprint – Samsung M540 “Rant”, available in black, purple and red Sprint – HTC Touch Pro Verizon – Blitz AT&T – BlackBerry… → Read More
It’s that time of year again. New phones! Let’s see, Sprint has unveiled seven new phones and we have already covered the exciting HTC Touch Diamond and Touch pro this morning, leaving us with a bunch of boring everyday phones. → Read More
Everybody is used to the hype that surrounds Apple’s events; it’s so heavy you can detect it with a Geiger counter and you have to be sanitized before you leave the auditorium. When Apple releases products, it’s always a big deal — usually, because the products are a big deal. The launch of Leopard, the iPhone, and the Air were, whether you wanted the products or not… → Read More
This is a rant. I was in Manhattan today and decided to stop by the Apple store on 5th Avenue, the Cube, as it is called, to pick up a 3G case. It was about 2:30pm, just after lunch. A simple plan: walk down the stairs, find the cases, buy one, leave. The place was mobbed. Every Italian tourist, every alterna-nerd, every financial Bluetooth headset guy, was milling about in the deep pit they call… → Read More
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