New Year's Resolution

Though spring is still a couple of months away, I've been doing some cleaning on my own with my digital devices (computers and iPod in particular). Here are some of the things that I've done so far.

1. Restore. Did a clean install of OS X on my Macs and restored my iPod touch to factory settings. Fresh start for the beginning of the year. It felt really good (trust me). Limiting to a few essential apps, I've managed to squeeze and maximize the available storage in my hard drive.

2. Upgrade. I have also upgraded the memory of my PowerBook (from 1GB to 2GB). I was happy to see some improvements in performance. Not only that, it hardly accessed my hard drive for swap files.

3. Organize. I simply changed the way I access and store my information. In the past, my main point of storage is in my PowerBook. That's where the logical place I keep things since it was the hub of my devices (every single thing is connected to that computer). Fast forward to 2009, most my data (email, documents, home videos) reside up somewhere in the cloud. Considering I use multiple computers (between home and work), thus the information that I need should always be available. Thanks to MobileMe, not only I was able to migrate the folders of my emails to the cloud, I was able to have my documents folder reside on it as well. As long as I'm connected to the web, I would be able to open those folders as if they were in the computer that I'm using. The process is instantaneous (without lag). There's something in OS X Leopard that made it fluid. Cloud migration will also protect you from hardware failure (making the switch from one Mac to the other painless, not to mention being able to access those information on my iPod touch). It's like having a third backup.

Inorder to do this, I have setup my PowerBook as my "master image" computer (to where every single Mac that I own will have thesame look and feel). Afterwards, I synchronize every preference option to MobileMe (with all the option boxes available selected). Once a new computer has been registered to MobileMe, that computer will have almost everything that my "master" computer have. I know hard drive cloning is probably a faster initial approach, but that doesn't give you the ability to update and synchronize those settings (as you move along). This is like IMAP for computers.

4. Backup. This is still in progress. I'm planning to purchase a NAS for my backup and extended media storage. The process will be a good test on how Time Machine will perform.

**During this writing, Palm has just announced the WebOS and the Prė. Exciting times!**

Sent from my iPod

The Real Score

Last June, I've switched to the iPod touch (as my daily primary device). After nearly six months of use, I had come to know that the iPod touch/iPhone has an entirely different strength in usage than the Palm. It's neither on the league of the PDA/smartphones (like the Treo) nor it's made for everyone (especially to those who have used a PDA/smartphone before). You really need to make several decisions on what's important for you, before you even jump in. The eye candy on the iPhone platform is very hard to resist, thus switching to one can be very impulsive.

When I was still using my Palm TX, my primary apps were Calendar, Contacts, Expense and eReader. On my iPod touch, I use it primarily as my iPod. I hardly use the popular Mobile Safari and Mobile Mail. The iPhone's Notes app got even more love from me than the previous two. Despite the easy to use interface, the platform suffers from several distractions (like fancy effects) that results to less productivity. More admiration of the slick look than getting things done for me. The presence of social networking apps (like Twitter and FaceBook) also contribute to the distractions. Instead of reading my book on eReader, I tend to check what my friends are up to in FaceBook.

Maintaining a calendar in the iPhone platform poses a challenge as well. It is not as straight forward as one may think. It was way easier to schedule such appointment using the Palm's calendar app than doing it on either iCal or the Mobile Calendar app of the iPhone. I really missed the "few taps and done" experience.

Why am I still using the iPod touch as my daily device? As I've mentioned earlier, I use it as an iPod for my daily commute and never wanted to carry another device to maintain my other stuff. Device wise, the iPod touch is a more decent and elegant (yet useful) device than my TX (or any Palm brand device for that matter). While distractions can be managed by changing ones behavior (on the way you use your device). Should I part with my iPod touch soon? Maybe next year or the year after. For what device? Maybe an iPhone.

Sent from my iPod

It's Genius!

A couple of updates have passed by and none of them carry any significant feature until iTunes 8 + iPhone firmware 2.1 came along - and that's Genius. I don't need to explain how Genius works, but it's awesome.

The Genius Playlist feature is a revolution for making playlists. Smart playlist has been there for years, Genius is a welcome addition to rediscover your music. I'm aware that this is not something that we haven't seen before, but this is the first time that this technology was implemented on a personal music jukebox (iTunes) and a portable music player (iPod) level. I would darely say that this is the Pandora Radio or Last.fm for your own music library. It's like having your personal DJ prepare a mixset for you. Trust me that it's hard to make a good playlist out of a typical iTunes library (that contains thousands of songs). Genius doesn't just group songs from say an era or a particular genre, but actually groups songs that play well together. The way to get Genius to perform better is to submit your iTunes library info to the iTunes store as often as possible.

Genius evolves and learns over time. Several Genius playlists after, I still carry that same surprised grin on my face whenever it plays some of my long lost favorite tunes together. And it keeps getting better.

Sent from my iPod

iPhantom Zone

In my quest to find the coolest Superman wallpaper (for my iPod touch), I came across a cartoon from HijiNKS and downloaded this wallpaper of General ZOM and his cohorts.

My Favorite Apps (Part 1)

As I've said before, the best thing that ever happened to the platform was the addition of the App Store (a.k.a. The Online Candy Store). With that, I would like to share a list of my favorite apps. Since I haven't spent anything on the App Store, I'll review some of my favorite free stuff (as of now).

Labyrinth LE - Game
A maze game that has fabulous graphics and physics that fully utilizes the built-in accelerometer (of both iPhone and iPod touch). The best part is it's free!

BoxOffice - Entertainment
Movie fans (like me) need not leave home without it. The app contains ratings, reviews, theatre location and showtimes. The interface is iPhone class and supports the nearby location feature of the platform. This is something handy for somebody who really loves movies.

Last.fm - Music
Sampling music before buying them is taken to the next level. You are not only given the chance to listen one part of the song, but its whole entirety (plus all the other songs that you may like). If you love the song, it makes purchasing music (from iTunes) just a tap away. If buying music from iTunes is like going to the drive-thru, think of this as home delivery.

Klick - Photography/Social Networking
By far, the best Flickr app for the iPhone. Great interface and features combined in a free app. It views, post comments, uploads, tags and so much more!

Sent from my iPod

iPhone 2.0 Aftermath

Honeymoon bliss is over. I've waited for the dust to settle and the hype to fade. Two weeks after applying the software upgrade, I'm finally ready to lay down the cards.

The Good
The iTunes App Store is the best thing that ever happened to the platform. The possibilities became endless (and we even barely scratched the surface). Been exploring some apps, but haven't started purchasing stuff until Apple decides to release a more stable update to the system software (I also need to review this month's bill to learn how much to expect once I start purchasing some apps).

The other thing that I can't wait to try was setting up the push feature for MobileMe. Everything came out well and no email was lost (despite the recent bad publicity about the service - though it will not sync your subscribed calendars, unlike Google Calendar).

The Bad
Eventhough I'm not getting an iPhone, I still have to wait in line for it (spent nearly one whole day before I could even download and pay the upgrade). I thought shopping online doesn't involve lining up for the product, but I guess I'm wrong. Come to think of it, it's faster to get an iPhone 3G from a local Fido Store than waiting for paid download to be available. Yes, I've sent Apple a complaint on this. After two days, I got an apology email from them. **atleast they've responded, no? Satisfied? No. They know what they're getting into and they are not prepared. Its NOT a valid excuse.**

The Ugly
This was a paid upgrade (despite the fact that I've purchased my iPod touch after the June announcement) and the hype behind the new iPhone 2.0 upgrade did not live up to my expectation. It made the built-in apps respond more sluggish than before. Quirks here and there happening even before installing any third party apps. I've noticed the battery drains faster than before (even not having to use my iPod touch any differently). After installing a few apps (from the App Store), occasional crashes and resets became more obvious. Stability and Security are the two obvious reasons why I've chose to wait for Apple to release and pay for this update (rather than to jailbreak my iPod touch). All I could think right now is either Apple released this upgrade too soon or the platform itself was not designed to accommodate third party apps. I was so much happier using version 1.1.4. If it's not for the App Store, I should have reverted back to the original software (that came with my iPod touch).

All I can wish right now, is for Apple not to screw up the upcoming update.

Sent from my iPod

Waiting for iPhone 2.0

Everyone's excited. Its not about the iPhone 3G (atleast not in Canada), but the iPhone 2.0 update with the App Store! Its finally coming this Friday (July 11, 2008). New features were promised and its going to be a free update for iPhone users and will cost US$9.99 for current iPod touch users.

With the iPhone 2.0 Software Update, your iPhone will do even more. Extend its capabilities with innovative applications you download directly from the new App Store. Get push email, calendar, and contacts from your Microsoft Exchange server at work. And use great new features in Mail, Contacts, and other applications. Free in the next update.

While July 11 is still five sleeps away, I've ran into this music video from Geoff Smith (while watching the latest GeekBrief TV podcast). Enjoy the video from your computer, while the rest down South are lining up on the nearest Apple and AT&T stores (again, no lineup in the nearest Rogers store).