Filed under: Golf and Computers,My Bidness,golf computers,golf equipment | Tags: Apple, AT&T, HTC Touch Pro2, iOS 4, iOS4, iPhone 3G, iphone 4, Psion Series 5mx, Verizon
The arrival of iPhone 4 has overshadowed the arrival of iOS 4. Many of us have held on to our iPhones despite quitting AT&T -this is a testimony to the greatness of the product in that previously, when I changed phones, the phones would be given away or put in a drawer or donated. The iPhone, when disconnected from AT&T, is still a wonderful device -more useful than the iPod Touch because of its great and handy camera. In fact, I call it my iPad Mini.
iOS4 promises multitasking to the iPhone 3GS and the most recent iPod Touch, but alas, not the iPhone 3G. What it does do after a long and convoluted updating process which included a period of time where I thought it was bricked, is make the device even more useful by offering folders which seen above during an App Store update, shows the folder contents with micro icons. When you tap on a folder, its contents show nicely just so:
This degree of intuitive folder behavior is …magical. The other thing that I love about the iOS4 update is the unified mailbox. All your mail accounts are consolidated in the unified box and organized by conversation thread!
The iPhone 3G is two years old, and even though it doesn’t multitask, the upgrades to the user interface and mail are worth it and keeps the device relevant. Even though I carry an HTC Touch Pro2 from Verizon, its days are numbered as I consider an upgrade to Droid X or the holy grail -the Verizon iPhone. The only other piece of technology that stayed in my pocket long after its release and freshness date was the Psion Series 5mx, which I reviewed before. When the Touch Pro2′s days are over, it will go into the dustbin.
BTW, this summer has been very busy, so apologies go out to regular visitors. I promise I will update this blog at least twice a week.
Filed under: Golf and Computers,My Bidness,golf computers,golf culture,golf equipment
This must break some sort of apocalyptic seal presaging the end times. Apple has passed Microsoft in terms of stock valuation (NYT link). Who would have predicted this fifteen years ago after the Newton debacle and the clone wars? In those dark days, I actually took it upon myself to help sell Macintoshes at the CompUSA in Columbus Circle, and I was not alone. It was strange how anti-Apple the sales staff was. I see this ultimately as the proof that people appreciate simplicity and perfection in design.
Filed under: Golf and Computers,golf computers,golf culture | Tags: app, iPad, magic piano, SMULE
This is one of the many cool things you can do with iPad.
Filed under: Golf and Computers,My Bidness,golf computers,golf news,golf photography | Tags: Apple Store, iPad, iPadurday, line, Steve Jobs
The iPad is here! The line at the
Apple Store was impressive, and the Apple Store clerks handed out Smart water, coffee, and muffins. The line moved briskly and there was a festive atmosphere and a fellowship of similarly minded futurists. And I believe that this device is a portal to the future of mobile computing. It untethers you from the desk in a way that laptops never could because laptops were still all about creating a desk.
It is an enabling technology much
in the way that literacy and human language enabled humans to be unfettered by genes and instinct. You may hate Apple and all that it makes, but you will be turning away from the next big thing, if that is important to you.
On opening, the device, like the iPod, wants to be connected to iTunes to be activated. Once set up, the device is beyond words in terms of fit, finish, and smooooothness.
Filed under: Golf and Computers,Golfist Wintertime Diversions,My Bidness,golf computers,golf equipment,golf news | Tags: cost, data plan, Dell Mini 10v, hackintosh, HTC TouchPro 2, internet access, iPad, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iTunes, netbook, Verizon, walkinghotspot, Windows Mobile
The iPad launch yesterday was not up to the hype -you needed the device to have time travel capabilities for people to be satisfied. That said, the question for this first adopter among first adopters is, “Where does this fit in my man purse?”
I need portable internet access for many reasons -I write a lot and am working on several research projects as well as need to keep in touch with a vascular team -the iPhone (now disconnected from AT&T) still serves as my primary email device because the HTC TouchPro2 that I have from Verizon has a maddeningly inconsistent email app that jumps between HTC’s beautiful interface and the horrible, ugly Windows Mobile 6.5 bones underneath. Despite this, the TP2 has earned a semi-permanent place because of the $30 app called WalkingHotSpot which will turn the TP2 into a Wifi hotspot.
I have a maxed out dataplan and tethering plan through Verizon, so I am just using the data that I have already purchased, just not for a Windows laptop but also for my iPhone which I can now use again for my golf GPS apps.
The middle spot between a big laptop (my 15inch Macbook Pro) and the iphone is the need to have a bigger screen than my iphone especially for iTunes movies and content, but at the same time having a keyboard, with at least 5 hrs of battery life. The netbooks do fill this niche in terms of hardware very nicely, but the software just isn’t there. I have become very used to iLife and iWork -thinks look prettier and works nicer through these than anything in the Windows or Linux environment.
The solution came in the form of Hackintosh. The Dell Mini 10v is a netbook which seems to have been designed solely for Hackintoshing. Hackintosh is a non-Apple computer made to run Mac OS X. This technically is a breach of the software license, but I own the computer and I own the shrink wrapped software license for this Hackintosh.
With this, I have a portable internet solution that goes 5hrs on battery, and more with the additional battery, all for a total of $400 bucks for the hardware. If you choose to go this route, you should buy the OS license.
The instructions are here: link.
This works nicely for now, because Apple didn’t have something that effectively served my needs in this space. Now they have iPad. We won’t be able to get our hands on one for 59 days, 89 if you want the 3G/Wifi version. Maybe my netbook days are numbered.
I’ll tell you why. The trackpad, designed by Dell, is one of the worst pieces of industrial design ever created by humans. Dell, after I ordered the netbook, took my money but didn’t acknowledge I even ordered the netbook until I spent two hours on tech support. It was only through the graces of a very nice lady in India, that I eventually got a netbook 10 days later than promised. The next OS upgrade to 10.6.3 may break the netbook again, requiring another round of hacking, which I used to enjoy, but not so much anymore. The 10inch screen is adequate, but I know, compared to the OLED screen on iPad, it will be like night and day. I see that a lot of people are giving up their netbooks on eBay, and this is most likely because the hardware being, well, not Apple.
So I wait, with my proverbial tent pitched outside our local Apple store.
Filed under: Golfist Cinema,Golfist Wintertime Diversions,golf computers | Tags: animatronic, Avatar, James Cameron, telepresence, uncanny valley, virtual reality
The uncanny valley is the revulsion caused by robots and computer generated images that try to mimic human faces. It was coined in the 1970′s by Masahiro Mori (link) and is the reason why watching Polar Express makes me jump up and down like a rabid chimpanzee. CGI movies that maintain their cartoony-ness avoid this problem.
So it was with a bit of suspicion that I went to see Avatar, expecting to jump up and down like a rabid chimp as soon as those blue goat people got on screen. I was wrong. James Cameron understood this implicitly and created an image capture system that follows actors facial movements and maps it directly to the blue Navi’s. The actors are really acting and the computer generated animatronics are imbued with emotion that greatly exceeds that of the actual human actors.
Avatar is great in the way that Titanic was great. The main character in Titanic was the ship, and in Avatar, it’s the escape from uncanny valley. The script is a Disney princess movie on steroids, but the real reason you should see Avatar is this entirely new way of experiencing the world.
I have to add, I have always felt virtual reality won’t work until all five senses are involved and Cameron seems to understand it as well -to access the avatars, the characters lay down in an MRI machine -it is through electromagnetic manipulation of nerves that true telepresence will be achieved.
Elvis, by Wowee, straight from the Uncanny Valley
Filed under: Golf and Computers,Golfist Wintertime Diversions,Video,golf computers | Tags: Blu-Ray, Fail, media formats, memory stick, Sony, UMD
Sony’s ability to turn gold into lead has a long track record. It started with Betamax but continued with MiniDisk, Memory Stick, UMD, and now Blu-Ray. You’d think they won with Blu-Ray, beating back HD-DVD, but it was a pyrrhic victory of one army of muskets over another army of muskets -on the horizon is a bunch of guys with cruise missiles, machine guns, and Predator drones. If you go to the video rental store (they still have these, but not for long) you will see about two racks for Blu-Ray. Who wants to spend for that when you can get just about as good for a lot less. That’s what its all about -remember Pioneer’s LaserDisk? Videophiles cherish the quality and durability of this format that predated DVD’s, but it was a millionaire’s plaything. Not so much with Blu-Ray which is hampered by the fact that to get the movie, you have to go and buy the movie or order it and wait for it to be delivered. With Netflix, Hulu, and iTunes along with a host of others, satisfaction is immediate. I downloaded Star Trek in HD and watched it with great satisfaction in 720p on my HiDef computer monitor. 23inch monitor for two feet away is the front row.
Sony has too many competing interests and kills itself by handicapping its products. Or it fetishizes design over function and delivers actual 4,000 dollar laptops that can’t make a movie with their own digicamcorders (my personal experience). People sneer that MacBook’s don’t have BluRay, but do you want to spend the extra money for that blue plastic cover? Especially when you already own Star Wars in VHS and DVD?
People are getting the notion that content has value -not the plastic case or the shiny disk. This is where Sony fails in clinging to a dying business model rather than adapting. It is the giant three toed sloth struggling in a tar pit.
Filed under: Golfist Wintertime Diversions,golf computers | Tags: field runners, new towers
These are three new Field Runner towers suggested by G. He explains that the Shredder tower spins and slices whatever is nearby. The Spike Shooter shoots deadly spikes. The Acid Shooter squirts burning acid from the spout.
The figure above shows level I towers and upgrades. Please give us new towers and new maps. Thank you!
