It goes against my recluse nature but there are a couple of other social networks I have been toying with recently that are pretty exciting.
One site is tumblr, which just got some huge publicity in a recent New York Times article. What I enjoy about tumblr is how effortless it is to share text, links, photos or other media. It feels far more content-driven than Facebook with less visual noise than Twitter. The iPhone app is outstanding and makes posting very easy. I’m not quite sure what to do with it yet, but if you are bored you can check out my tumblr page.
Scribd is a platform geared toward writers who wish to share their content. A few components still feel buggy, but overall I like the concept. Since it is geared toward longer content the updating occurs through uploading documents. While this is a bit cumbersome for sharing blog posts, it really lends itself to stories and articles. Google Docs integration is there so one can easily port those over. My latest Scribd posts can be found here.
If there are other social networks you are excited about, feel free to share in the comments.
In a previous post I discussed the obsessive fanboyism of iPhone and Android users.
Despite how annoying the fanboys are, they are good for business. These users are fiercely loyal to their brand, and when it comes time to buy another device most are likely to stick with their preferred operating system.
A recent Nielsen survey confirms this. It found 71 percent of current Android users plan to get another Google-powered device come upgrade time, while 89 percent of iPhone owners plan the same. However, only 42 percent of BlackBerry owners want another model.
That is a huge problem for Research in Motion. The BlackBerry needs some defining features that set it apart from the competition. The iPhone has the best music player and zillions of apps. Android has excellent Google integration and plenty of options.
The BlackBerry has…a great keyboard. The OS in its current form is dated and still best suited to the corporate users who once made it a status symbol. An overhaul is underway with OS 6 with a needed focus on a vastly improved browser and its messaging strengths.Continue reading →
The irony here? I took this picture with my iPhone.
Look anywhere on the Internet for an article or blog post that mentions Android phones or the iPhone. Then, scroll down to the comments and duck as venom will begin to spew through your computer screen.
The vitriol, name-calling and idiocy that once were the hallmark of Mac vs. PC debates has been overtaken by fanboys of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android devices.
It is one thing to enjoy your favorite mobile platform. It is quite another to ridicule and throw insults at users of the competition. It seems that many people (mostly men) get a ridiculous, Alpha Male attachment to their phone and must defend its honor when any perceived criticism arises.
The reality is each device has its distinct advantages and weaknesses. The iPhone benefits from Apple’s maniacal focus on design and control to create a smooth and minimalistic user interface. Its control of the App Store prevents some buggy and unnecessary apps from making it onto the device. Of course in exchange you surrender some freedom: your choice is only one device on one network (and for now just one color).
Android offers more flexibility and choices of devices and carriers. There is a good Android phone now on all four of the major carriers. Some have keyboards, some don’t, and two even have enormous screens. Heavy users of Google products like Gmail get tight integration with those services and are not locked into iTunes. Yet more and more Android phones are getting loaded up with bloatware and have ugly skins like Motorola’s BLUR or HTC Sense running on top of them. This forces users to wait for the latest version of Android while the carriers and device makers figure out when it won’t break their software. Continue reading →
One of the iPhone 4′s highly-touted features has become its biggest PR nightmare.
The irony is that the now infamous external antenna was supposed to be a breakthrough design that would end the misery of AT&T’s sometimes pitiful network coverage.
I have only been able to duplicate the signal loss issue in a few rare circumstances, and this Engadget post shares the experiences of various editors. While it is clear this issue is not experienced to the same degree by everyone, the Consumer Reports feature determined it is a problem with every Phone 4.
The real danger for Apple is the company is acting like a political team fighting off a scandal: deflect and deny. First it was Steve Jobs telling Ars Technica “avoid holding it that way.” A few days later the edict came down that it was a software issue. Continue reading →
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Continue reading →
If you have read this site before then you probably have picked up that I occasionally review iPhone apps. Over the past two years I have become pretty familiar with the strengths and quirks of Apple’s App Store.
That is why I’m excited to announce my forthcoming eBook: The App Store Survival Guide. The book will be an indispensable guide for iPhone/iPad newbies and veterans alike about navigating the jungle of the App Store.
The book will be available for download soon. I am holding off on putting a date on it yet because you never know when a white iPhone incident may happen. As I get closer to a release date I will announce it here. My expectation is the book will be easily accessible for your favorite eReader (including the iPad).
I am excited about this milestone and hope you will find The App Store Survival Guide a vital resource for making your favorite iDevice even more useful.
Monday night’s D8 interview with Steve Jobs was a fascinating piece of dialog. While Jobs has lost none of his hubris, for most of the night he was reflective and nuanced about Apple’s achievements and competitors. It was a welcome change to the current political-style mudslinging that has been dominating most of the technology industry lately.
Sure, he took a couple of digs at Google (they made it easy with the recent Wi-Fi snafu) but largely resisted when Walt Mossberg continued to press him about the fact they now compete with their former ally. And Jobs even described how Apple lost the platform war to Microsoft – a pretty spin-free admission.
Most of the coverage overstated Jobs’ suggestion that we were beginning to see the end of the PC era. This wasn’t a proclamation that this would happen overnight. His argument, which is largely correct, is that over time many people will begin to rely more on lighter, touch-based devices and less on keyboard-and-mouse PCs. This is a challenge to both Apple and Microsoft who both have incredible resources invested in PC hardware and software. Continue reading →
This chart has become one of the most discussed on the topic of iPads vs. netbooks.
Many pundits and commentators are debating whether or not the iPad is eating into netbook sales. Some studies indicate the iPad is the stake into the heart of the netbook (see here and here.) Others say this is typical Apple-inspired hyperbole (here and here).
Getting to the truth is tricky because tech commentary lately sounds too much like our political system: polarized into overly dogmatic camps who talk at, instead of to, each other. On the one hand are the Apple fanboys, who find Apple devices as items of worship and take pronouncements from Steve Jobs as if the Pope were speaking ex cathedra. Yet there are also the Apple haters, who compare every Apple product to a Fischer Price toy and think all Apple innovations were stolen from someone else.
Instead of listening to these warring factions we should interpret the data. It is fair to infer the massive growth experienced by netbooks is probably declining because most who wanted one have bought it. Most new products that achieve popularity have a spike in sales and then eventually decline. Continue reading →
I have a guest post today on the excellent writing blog The Urban Muse. My post argues that while niche blogging has its place there are merits to not pigeonholing your content.
