Recent Comments:
Developers get first look at Apple Push Notification service on iPhone OS 3.0 beta {Engadget}
May 18th 2009 11:03PM Given what the "notifications" look like I think this will largely be unuseable. For texting this is fine, but for any application that has large volumes of messages e.g. IM, or even news this will be unuseable. Additionally, visually how do you differentiate from different sources? Does this really solve the problem of needing to run processes that do more than just display a modal dialog?
From a UI perspective you cannot make every notification a modal dialog - it's untenable. This strategy brings to mind something a kin to using Netsend for IM, but only being able to display one message at a time.
Sometimes I wonder about Apple's ability to handle user interface complexity.
Apple may (or may not) be mulling background apps for the iPhone {Engadget}
May 16th 2009 8:52PM The "it just works" goal for the iPhone as the summary stated is a failure.
The failure is primarily due to the fact that the phone with default settings does a poor job of managing it's battery. Additionly certain "features" such as "auto-correct" don't work very well, and are difficult to turn off without digging through 4 levels of menus. Thus a high level of poking around is required to optimize the phone's performance.
That said, I do not mind managing my inventory or running apps, I suspect that most of the iPhone users out there are also capable of choosing which apps they wish to have running. I mean, given one of Apple's "intuitive" user interfaces, it should be easy, right?
It continues to baffle me how Apple can go out and sell a computer that can only run one program at once.
Of course I bought one... I guess one program running is better than none. ;)
TiVo update brings pause menu ads to Series3 & TiVo HD owners {Engadget}
Apr 6th 2009 7:37AM @Tim That is not the point, it is the principle of it. Ads have been isidiously invading TiVo for years, every year they show up in some new part of the interface.
TiVo makes you pay an insanely high fee for what? A TV guide? For a simple data feed that someone could compile almost for free.
On top of that you have to pay for the hardware.
Every year TiVo expands their revenue stream with your eye balls, but there is never a savings to you.
I can assure you if you went from the TiVo ad model of today and applied it to TiVo users interfaces 3 years ago there would be outrage.
Netflix raising rates for Blu-ray subscribers by around 20 percent {Engadget}
Mar 31st 2009 9:05AM Protest! cancel your netflix membership and send them an e-mail.
This it is a direct result of Blu-Ray not having competition in the market place. This is a bad precident.
Protest, cancel today for a month!
Logan
Apple reveals 17-inch MacBook Pro battery replacement details {Engadget}
Jan 14th 2009 10:01PM 179 is high - most batteries are between 80 - 130. You also have the option of buying OEM. The notion of having to schedule an appointment to replace my battery is absurd. On top of that you can be sure that apple "claims" 8 hours of battery life but the reality will vary significantly.
Dell Studio XPS 13 leather-wrapped laptop revealed, Adamo info leaked! {Engadget}
Jan 7th 2009 3:36AM As an XPS 1330 owner who has had problems - I am still very, very happy with my computer. It's fast, light and fast. It gets great battery life for the amount of power available. I just put an Intel SSD in the X25-M and it's even better - completly silent.
The 1340 is meant to do two things - provide an upgrade path for the 1330 owners and convert others into perceiving the "xps/adamo" laptop brand as "premium". I hope the super slim WXGA led panel is of better quality than the last.
When the XPS 1330 was released there was no machine besides the mac book pro that could compare. Again, Dell pushes the limits and delivers a capable compact notebook with discreet FX in a nice package.
And on more thing... it has a windows key :)
Logan
XRoad G-Map app brings bona fide navigation to the iPhone {Engadget}
Dec 23rd 2008 5:29PM I'm pretty sure the reason there is no turn by turn on the iPhone is that it would kill the device and not work, at all. The GPS rarely kicks in for me, it's usually just the cell tower positioning. I also bought an app called GPS kit, and it rarely can get a signal.
T-Mobile Dash may not be getting an overhaul, may not be in stores now {Engadget}
Dec 23rd 2008 3:38AM Honestly,
Despite it's EDGE connection, slightly slow CPU, the damn thing worked, and worked everywhere. The winmo smartphone version is great (on the dash), I do not like the Pocket PC version. With exchange and the 6.1 update there is server side mail searching, which quite honestly is the most valueable feature while traveling. Finding itinerary information or hotel reservations that were sent to you a week ago is a task beyond the iPhone, but the little old dash could do it. Additionally, programming .NET on winmo is really easy and i made some cool GPS apps in a short time. The battery life on the last dash was very good, only needing to be charged every two to three days. It had the added benefit of being mini-USB compatible. It's also rugged, I can't speak about the screen issue, but after a few months I lost the fancy case it came with and carried it in my pocket, sat on it, and dropped it a couple times. It had a good keyboard, my only complaint was using blue paint for the special keys and then having a blue keyboard backlight. The rubberized back was really nice, and had a good feel in the hand. The micro SD card slot was cool too. It did not have enough memory though, which was a problem. The MS Virtual Earth client was really cool, but sometimes it would lock the phone up when it lost cell reception, no idea why. I have traveled the world with the phone and have only good things to say about it. It still sits on my desk because I don't have the heart to get rid of it. The iPhone has a number of features that go beyond the scope of a phone, and that's cool and all, but as a communications/navigation device the Dash was truly good at what it did. R.I.P. Dash!
SIM / hardware-unlocked Android Dev Phone 1 surfaces for $399 {Engadget}
Dec 9th 2008 8:13PM Sadly, no. International "economy" shipping doesn't really exist anymore. It recently cost me 170 dollars to send a very small package 3 day to France from the East Coast. I'm not sure BrightStarCorp has the best relationship with shipping companies either. Given the ordering process this seems like one of the first times they have shipped direct to consumer.
Ads coming soon to a paused TiVo menu near you {Engadget}
Dec 9th 2008 6:53PM The problem? I used to have a TiVo, I don't anymore. The reason is simple, TiVo basically charges 12.95 a month for TV listings. This on it's own has dubious value. To make matters worse, TiVo began advertising all over their user interface a few years ago. As if reselling TV listsings isn't profitable enough - they decide to "leverage" their users and start making more money off us by selling ads. When I aquired the device I was under the impression that one of TiVo's major benefits was escaping advertising.
Thus - paying for the "privilege" of being advertised to really didn't appeal to me - especially for a service that had previously been ad free.
Not to mention that it is nearly impossible to get support on the phone, their gross delay in creating an HD tivo that was reasonably priced, and (this was years ago) deceptive marketing practices about accessory hardware. To elaborate, the TiVo wireless USB adapter was advertised as 802.11g compatible (which it was) however the TiVo itself was unable to achieve transfer rates over 10 Mb/s which is only 1/5 the "g" standard. It also rendered the transfer feature almost useless due to excessive transfer times.
