Twitter Updates for 2009-06-09

Posted on 9 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

RT @bonniegrrl Scientists discover bats use language 2 recognize each other!No wrd on if they likd Twilight. http://bit.ly/lyBDd #madscience #
@crimsonsky56 That’s exactly what it is. Snow Leopard might be more efficient, but dumping the PPC binaries is the big saver. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@TheBigKlosowski Safari 4 moving tabs back to under the address bar moved me right back to Chrome. Fitt’s Law, people! Look it up! #
Okay, I know it’s gauche to tweet about food, but work catered in BBQ pork, red beans and rice, cornbread and watermelon. Felt like home. #
@TheBigKlosowski I thought there was at least an alpha of Chrome on OSX by now #
@scotbotmosh It’s gauche to admit it. #
@tibbarerew DUAL BAND WIRELESS N ROUTERS!!!! ZOMG! #
@rstevens Personally, I don’t want to die in a vat of hydrochloric acid. #
@crimsonsky56 I’m using an E&B horizontal belt pouche I bought many, many phones ago. Fits the iPhone just fine. #
Okay, so anyone else finding it nigh impossible to focus today? #
@rstevens THE HORROR! THE HORROR! #
At some point I will cool down with the all caps tweets. I’m not in my right mind today. Carry on. #
I have withheld a dreadful pun I could have tweeted. You’re welcome. #
@crimsonsky56 I do worry that my iPod touch was a gateway drug. I’ve since bought an iPhone and am considering an Apple TV. #
@crimsonsky56 I’d use Boot Camp so I could boot into Win7 for games. Yes, I’ve considered this. #
@crimsonsky56 I’m still in the VERY early process of determining how best to link my iTunes library and an HDTV to be named later. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@crimsonsky56 I’m tweeting so much frankly because it’s one of the few things I can actually do with my abbreviated attention sp in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@ColleenLindsay Congrats on the iPhone! I’m seriously considering moving my blog from WordPress to @Squarespace… in reply to ColleenLindsay #
@crimsonsky56 Oh, I don’t have one yet, but it’s a vital part of the digital home environment I’m planning #
@msmith4 Igor can’t get to the App Catalog? That’s their version of Apple’s App Store. #
@dougwo Cubed bird would get sucked through the mesh. #
@msmith4 Tell Igor to suck it up and get an iPhone. in reply to msmith4 #
@msmith4 Also, tell him to get on teh Twitter #
@jamesus About fricking time. We were going to have to revoke your geek cred… #
@timlaytonsr 3GS pricing is fair, given that that the 3G was subsidized and the original wasn’t, but it’s still a dumb business decision. #
@crimsonsky56 There are Exchange task/notes sync solutions for the iPhone. You could also cloud sync (Toodledo, RTM). I just use Evernote. in reply to crimsonsky56 #

Twitter Updates for 2009-06-08

Posted on 8 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

@rcartwright Might be worth asking, but a 3G with 3.0 is all I need. Have macro with Clarifi case, don’t care about video. in reply to rcartwright #
@CRA1G How would you overhaul the iPhone? in reply to CRA1G #
@CRA1G In case no one else answered this (I’m three hours behind realtime on Twitter), iPods are generally updated in the fall. in reply to CRA1G #
RT @zaibatsu RT @Lotay: What if Lincoln Had Used Twitter? (Time Magazine) http://viigo.im/Pvi #
@crimsonsky56 It’s the great summer gas gouge. Given the cyclical nature of it, I’m thinking it’s tied to El Niño. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
RT @margaretcho New Blog: Let My People Go http://bit.ly/4CTrx #
Let’s not forget the real news today came out of North Korea, not California. #
@crimsonsky56 Welcome to the Collective. We will assimilate your uniqueness into our own. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@msmith4 I’m happy with the 3G, happier still once I get 3.0 next week. 3GS is a compelling upgrade from the first gen iPhone, though. in reply to msmith4 #
RT @timlaytonsr Why The iPhone 3G S May Be A Sucker’s Bet Right Now http://tr.im/nQf9 // A those prices, I’m not interested in upgrading. #
OMG between Twitter, email and Google Reader, I never get anything done on heavy news days. I R teh infosponge. #
@tibbarerew I’m so using that. in reply to tibbarerew #
Reading tweets, news & email for 3 hrs at my local Chipotle. iPhone battery meter has yet to move. Who says the 3G battery life sucks? #
The view from one of my favorite places http://twitpic.com/6y03e #
OMG @rolandrsr just found me at aforementioned place. The jig is up! #
@crimsonsky56 @CRA1G yes, the Patio of the Chipptle near my house. Urban tranquility, with guacamole. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@chrisharrop You gotta love Aurora. At least someone does. in reply to chrisharrop #

Twitter Updates for 2009-06-07

Posted on 7 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

@crimsonsky56 I’m writing up my WWDC predictions now. I could be wrong, I’ve been wrong before. But I don’t think I am. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@DarrenHumphries Windows Mobile 7 will be revolutionary compared to WM 6.x, evolutionary compared to webOS, iPhone. It will also be too late in reply to DarrenHumphries #
@DarrenHumphries WM7 would have been groundbreaking last year. By the time it comes out, it will look derivative compared to the competition in reply to DarrenHumphries #
At the grocery store. “Melon baller” always sounds dirty to me. #
Water fountain with an RSS feed http://twitgoo.com/oos3 #
@CRA1G Except that mustard is clearly superior. in reply to CRA1G #
RT @chrisharrop My day is never complete until I hear a call over the scanner about the black-shirted, roving grocery-union death squads. #
When? #
Nobody chills as thoroughly as a one year old http://twitpic.com/6v2ia #

WWDC 09 Predictions

Posted on 6 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

As I type this, there are less than 36 hours to go before the opening keynote of Apple’s 2009 Worldwide Developer Conference. The internets are buzzing with speculation as to what we are going to see. I’ve read all the rumors, speculation and predictions, and run them through my sophisticated bullshit detector, and applied my years of experience analyzing the mobile industry to suss out what I think we’re actually going to see. I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong before. But I really don’t think it’s likely.

(and for what it’s worth, I think this is not too far from how it might go down)

I don’t think Apple intended for this to be a release conference. I think even as recently as a month ago, they expected to have Phil Schiller make some announcements about iPhone OS 3.0 and Snow Leopard, and maybe announce the third generation iPhone, which I think was intended to be called the iPhone HD. The actual release of the 3.0 firmware and the new iPhone would be in mid-July.

The events of May and the first week of June have, I believe, changed Apple’s plans, and forced them to accelerate their time table. Microsoft’s announcement of the Zune HD and the incredible media hype surrounding the release of the Palm Pre, not to mention Palm’s surprise announcement that the Pre accomplishes media sync by pretending to be an iPod and using Apple’s own iTunes software, has, shall we say, fired the competitive flames within Apple’s Tim Cook, Phil Schiller and yes, Steve Jobs.

Check your iTunes installation. Does it say it will check for the next update on June 8? Even if you just installed 8.2? That’s because it knows something we don’t, namely that the new iTunes firmware will be available right after the keynote, rather than in July. If you have a jailbroken iPhone, restore it now, because you’ll need a clean installation to upgrade on Monday. The 3.0 firmware will be pretty much what we saw in beta 5, with no big new features like background processes. AT&T will offer to add unlimited tethering for your laptop to your account for an additional $30 a month.

More than that, Schiller (and maybe Jobs) will unveil the new iPhone Video, a name which has already shown up in some behind the scenes code. This will be very similar to the iPhone 3G in size and shape, but will have a slightly different face. It will have a 320×570, 16×9 aspect screen. pushing the earpiece grill further towards the top of the device. In many ways it will look like a “stealth” 3G, with a gunmetal bezel and a matte finish black back. The front glass will conceal a VGA front facing video camera for iChat to go along with the 3.2 MP autofocus camera on the back.

The iPhone Video will be available immediately via Apple.com, and at Apple stores either Monday or Tuesday. Not sure when AT&T retail outlets will get it. It will come in three capacities: 8GB for $99 with a two year contract, 16GB for $199 and 32GB for $299.

That’s a lot, and I think they’ll stop there. I don’t expect them to announce the iTablet or iPad or whatever they call the Kindle-sized iPod Touch we all suspect them to be working on. Steve’s a showman and he knows the first rule of showmanship: always leave them wanting more. We’ll hear a little about Snow Leopard in the opening comments, which I expect to be released sooner rather than later, probably late July or August. And of course, judging by the banners already hanging at WWDC, they’ll be playing up the App Store, and will showcase a few big name applications that take advantage of features exclusive to 3.0. Look for Documents to Go and Beejive to figure prominently.

Am I off base? We have 36 hours to find out. Josh Curry and I are planning to record our return to Maximum Geek Monday night, so be sure to check in for our analysis and other tech news hijinks.

Twitter Updates for 2009-06-06

Posted on 6 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

Groceries bought, Red Robin burger consumed, I sit down to watch Bill Maher. Tomorrow I may continue glamorous lifestyle by writing. Really. #
Nope #
Have fondled Pre. Keyboard better than expected, but I stand by my other critiques. Maybe they’ll do better with v2, assuming Palm survives. #
@DarrenHumphries The hardcase I saw for the Pre really bulked it up. Chunky, bordering on portly. in reply to DarrenHumphries #
@glennhilton I’m not sure how many Twitter newbs quit versus switch to dedicated clients (Tweetdeck, etc) versus the website in reply to glennhilton #
Whoa, just made the connection (bad veteran!)… Palm Pre released on D-Day. #
@crimsonsky56 The Pre keyboard is definitely for small thumbs or strong thumbnails. Hate having to slide open for everything, even passwords in reply to crimsonsky56 #
Reflux from guacamole on my burrito = annoying. Green goo of the gods = totally worth it. #
Unbelievably rough life looking after @hkirvin’s dogs this afternoon. (Hi sis!) http://twitgoo.com/oidk #
Aforementioned dogs. http://yfrog.com/eqga4dj #
Saw an HP dv2 today, seriously considering making that my next laptop. Powerful, but netbookish. #
@DarrenHumphries Speaking as a chunky/portly man, nothing. But it’s not a quality often sought in a smartphone. in reply to DarrenHumphries #
@robotech_master An alliteral avocado avocation, if you will. in reply to robotech_master #
RT @reneritchie Over Palm Pre! Crazy! @leoplaporte kicks Arrington & Gillmor Gang off the TWiT network. http://tumblr.com/xno1yxv62 #
@crimsonsky56 Workin’ like a dog, as it were. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@tibbarerew Dogs need watching. When I got here they were closer than Iran to acquiring nukes (like that’s hard). #
RT @reneritchie Arrington posts on Gilmore Gang/Palm Pre incident on TechCrunch, Laporte responds in comments: http://bit.ly/xkenF #
Basically Arrington was mad because Leo got a shiny new toy and he didn’t. Grow up, Mike. #
@tibbarerew You say that like it’s a bad thing (for a dog) #
@tibbarerew But isn’t the dv2 less than half the price of the Envy? in reply to tibbarerew #
@crimsonsky56 You won’t have to wait. I’m predicting the iPhone video will be available Monday, at least from apple.com in reply to crimsonsky56 #
RT @TeresaKopec Happy birthday Tetris! Love Ya! ㄴㄱ ㅓㅗㅏㅜ ㅣ ㅡ ㅁ #

Twitter Updates for 2009-06-05

Posted on 5 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

@crimsonsky56 murmur murmur #
@crimsonsky56 I’ll be posting my thoughts on the Pre later, maybe that will brighten your day. #
Windows 7 upgrades to be $50 for Home Premium, $100 for Professional http://bit.ly/bLZvx #
@crimsonsky56 I love the @evernote blogcast. Fun and informative! #
@crimsonsky56 Good thing about the @evernote Windows client, I was starting to think about running OS/X #
@crimsonsky56 Yeah, the Pre isn’t an epic fail, but they missed WAY too many of the little things #
@CRA1G Entire original Trek series is on TV.com. Plan to watch on my iPhone. #
@TeresaKopec Freshly cut onion soothes bee stings #
KGB = 1TB #
@brettq Let me know if the Pre is really as annoying as I think it is #
@joekeg Do you mean to imply, sir, that the interwebs are not life itself? #
@robotech_master Yay, they ups man cometh! #
@Cynical_Woman Maybe no ending yet, but “happy ending” yet? #
@mightymur I bow in awe of your wordcount. #solidarity #
@tibbarerew Oddly, it’s been in Detroit. in reply to tibbarerew #
@crimsonsky56 I’m still boycotting AP for their stupid stance on copyright. in reply to crimsonsky56 #

Picking nits: why I’m skipping the Palm Pre

Posted on 5 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

Don’t get me wrong. In many respects, the Palm Pre is a groundbreaking smartphone that portends the obliteration of the line between phone and full size computer. It joins the iPhone and arguably the Android devices as the only computer some people would ever need.

However, Palm missed a lot of the little things in this first release. It’s an admirable attempt, given what they’re shooting for, but the fact of the matter is that the devil is in the details, and Palm fumbled too many. Any one of the following items is easy enough to overlook in an otherwise stellar device. But the difference between, frankly, the Palms and the Apples of the world is that the Apples don’t miss over 20 of them. They add up to an annoying user experience more akin to Windows Mobile than the iPhone.

Tiny, un-thumbable keys. One of the reasons the keys on the Pre (and Centro) keyboard are so rubbery is that they’re intended to be snagged with your thumbnail rather than the meat of your thumb. It works, but it’s not as comfortable or as fast as, say, the Blackberry Bold.
No software on-screen keyboard. If the thumbnail technique doesn’t work for you, there’s no other way to do it. In fact, you even have to slide the device open to enter a things like passwords.
8GB limit on storage (really 7). 7GB doesn’t hold a lot these days, especially if you like video. Of course, you can’t sync purchased videos from iTunes (DRM), so unless you rip your own DVDs this may not bother you as much as bothers me.
Let’s talk about that iTunes sync, shall we? Palm has done a lot to ensure people can sync the Pre as though it were an iPhone, but this trick only works as long as Apple chooses not to block it. Basically, this works because the Pre reports itself as an iPod in Media Sync mode. But it still reports itself as a Palm Pre on the base USB channel, so Apple could filter this out if they decided they didn’t want to deal with support calls about syncing issues with things that aren’t really iPods.
Try scrolling a long web page on the Pre. Where are you on the page? How close are you to the bottom? You don’t know, because unlike pretty much every other smartphone on the market, the Pre has no scrollbars at all, not even the temporary scroll indicators you see on the iPhone.
And there’s no way to jump to the top or bottom of a long list. On the iPhone, you can tap the status bar to jump to the top. On everything else, you have scrollbars. On the Pre, flick flick flick…
Assuming you don’t fork over $70 for a Touchstone charger, you have to plug the Pre in to charge it. No biggie, but you also have to open and close the flimsy little door that covers up the microUSB port every time you do it. I know they put this here to keep the Pre’s “organic, river-stone” aesthetic, but this is going to get old quick.
For a device that’s designed to be online constantly, to live in the cloud, the battery life on the Pre stinks if you actually connect to anything. We’re talking Android G1 battery life.
And you’re unable to use existing Centro/Treo 800w batteries, even though they’re exactly the same size, shape and pins as Pre batteries. Something about internal “mechanical” differences. Yeah, right.
No on screen speed dial. I know you can assign speed dials to keys on the keyboard (I know way too many people with J names) or put contacts on the launcher (see below), but this is lame.
Speaking of the launcher, Palm didn’t follow their own previous success and include categories. You get three unnamed launcher screens, each scrollable as deep as you like. But given that “out of sight, out of mind, what you really get is one undifferentiated scrolling list, or three iPhone like panels with stuff you’ll forget to look for underneath.
At least you can find applications with Universal Search. You know what you can’t find? “Universal” search doesn’t search calendar, email, memos or tasks. Yeah, so much for universal. BTW, the iPhone does search calendar, email and notes with the 3.0 firmware.
You can’t change notification sounds. Your incoming text messages and emails sound just like everyone else’s. ‘Nuff said.
All or nothing Facebook and Google Contacts sync. A lot of reviewers mentioned this. Facebook and Google Contacts probably include a lot of people you don’t really know or barely know. But you can’t sync a specific Facebook group or just your “real” contacts in Gmail. If you sync these services, be ready to flick through everyone you’ve ever emailed and friends of friends of friends in your contact list.
Memos is a joke, but I’d probably replace it with Evernote, even a launcher shortcut to the mobile version.
Can’t copy text from a web page. The Pre only allows copy (and paste) in “editable” fields. So reading a web page or reading an email, you can’t copy. You can forward the email and copy from that, now that it’s editable, but again, lame.
Given that the browser doesn’t handle Flash, it also doesn’t direct YouTube links to the included YouTube app. Uh, what?
No Amazon MP3 downloads over 3G. We knew about this going in, and I know the iPhone had this limitation when it was first released, too. But the iPhone doesn’t have that limitation now. Why does Palm have to repeat Apple’s mistakes?
The Music app has no “scrub” control to select playback position within a file. Not such a big deal with music, but a really big deal with podcasts.
Music app also can’t filter out podcasts from songs when shuffling if you synced them via iTunes. Lame.
No Latitude or Street View in Google Maps. What’s the deal with this? The Pre has GPS. Why is Google Maps for the Pre so inferior to Google Maps on the iPhone, Android, and for goodness sake, Windows Mobile?
Easy to run into “can’t open a new card until you close some existing cards.” Say what you will about the iPhone and multitasking, but memory management generally isn’t something the user has to think about.
Weak autocorrect. Maybe this isn’t as “necessary” on a device without an on-screen keyboard, but you have to watch what you type on the Pre a lot closer than you have to on the iPhone, or even HTC Windows Mobile devices.

Again, I’m not saying the Pre sucks. It’s a really interesting device, and not bad for a 1.0 product. But Palm has to do better than this if they’re going to save their company. The Pre needed to be as close to flawless as it could be to steal mindshare away from the iPhone and Blackberry. And the Pre we actually got just doesn’t measure up.

Twitter Updates for 2009-06-04

Posted on 4 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

@crimsonsky56 Yeah, I have to use Evernote premium. I upload too much to go with the free service, and I have a lot of file attachments. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@msmith4 His Kung Fu was strong. #
RT delrayser If you ask me, any “Apology Tour” speech in Cairo is incomplete if Kurt Russell & James Spader aren’t there: http://is.gd/OdW1 #
@tibbarerew Well, one night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble… #
@crimsonsky56 Because the iPhone is where it makes the most sense to spend development dollars, especially for a small company like Evernote #
So many Palm Pre reviews to read, so much Twitter, and oh yeah, the day job. #
RT @pourmecoffee Listening to new Bin Laden tape. Claims Adam was robbed, vows “Death To American Idol.” #
@tibbarerew We aims to please. We often miss. #
@crimsonsky56 Control yourself. I knew what I was getting into buying a 3G in May, but you should wait until Monday to see what you’d miss. #
@rcartwright Nope, the more I learn about the Pre the more convinced I am I made the right call (for me) in getting the iPhone 3G. in reply to rcartwright #
@rcartwright The Pre is quite impressive and should do well, but I’m disappointed at Palm’s missing the little things. Those add up. in reply to rcartwright #
@mightymur Go Mur Go! #solidarity in reply to mightymur #
RT @tweetmeme Palm Pre Review | PreCentral.net http://bit.ly/9WspI #
@crimsonsky56 Read Dieter’s review on Precentral. Palm got a lot of things wrong. #
@screenwriterjd None of us are out here. #
@crimsonsky56 What are you thoughts on the Win7 taskbar as compared to the Apple Dock? #
RT @mikemadden: Obama while touring pyramids: “Hear that, guys? No evidence aliens actually bu #
RT @wilw: Things TV taught me: In this economy, it’s really important that we keep saying, “In this economy.” #

Twitter Updates for 2009-06-03

Posted on 3 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

So this is what 38 years old feels like. It smells blue. #
Holy crap, @hodgman and I share a birthday. Happy birthday, John. #
@crimsonsky56 I do believe that’s a skink. #
@litchick77 Be careful where you drag bf. I hear he bites. #
@crimsonsky56 Yes, I’m definitely a PC. in reply to crimsonsky56 #
@crimsonsky56 I don’t know, I’m pretty darned impressed with @evernote for Windows #
An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz. http://bit.ly/fXh1U #
@the_wordgirl I’m down with green goo of the gods. #
@joekeg ew. #
@DarrenHumphries Be careful, I’ve found most jailbreak software to be mega-unstable. Only using Backgrounder, QuickGold maybe PDAnet #
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321 Mind = blown #
@JuggerGrimrod one day and eleven years. alas. #
@scalzi Nobody beats Sorkin for dialogue #
Thx for all the birthday wishes! It really is as Dr. Jones said: “It’s not the years; it’s the mileage.” #
@tibbarerew More like refurbs in reply to tibbarerew #

Twitter Updates for 2009-06-02

Posted on 2 June 2009 by Jeff Kirvin

Now at the office, caught up on all the Twitter, tweeting in haiku #
Since it’s LOTRO night for my guild, a LOTR haiku: Balrog on my ass, I try to escape this mine, God damn fire monsters #
WTF? http://yfrog.com/75frgzj #
Damn you, @wilw for making me do math #
RT @tweetmeme Apple Faithful: Arrogance Is Not a Virtue, and Why I Will Never Buy a Mac | Tech Broiler | ZDNet.com http://bit.ly/16FVpS #
@tibbarerew I know what math is. I’ve seen math. #

Jeff Kirvin

A Distant Chipmunk On The Horizon

Monthly Archives: June 2009