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Tom Simonite: >A new app called Silent Circle tries to change that by encrypting calls, e-mails, and texts. It’s aimed at activists, companies, and individuals who fear they’re being spied on. In other words: it’s aimed at me. Think of this though, for all you spy lovers, this would be a way to *finally* have…
Tom Simonite:
>A new app called Silent Circle tries to change that by encrypting calls, e-mails, and texts. It’s aimed at activists, companies, and individuals who fear they’re being spied on.
In other words: it’s aimed at me.
Think of this though, for all you spy lovers, this would be a way to *finally* have your own “secured line”. Thus allowing me to now say to people: “this line isn’t secure, I’ll call you back on a secure line”. Awesome.
Everyday I use two devices from Apple: an iPhone 3GS and an original iPad. The 3GS is basically an iPod that sits in my car all day, but I use an old iPhone so that Instacast can update itself when I park in my garage. That old original iPad is in use as a dedicated…
Everyday I use two devices from Apple: an iPhone 3GS and an original iPad. The 3GS is basically an iPod that sits in my car all day, but I use an old iPhone so that Instacast can update itself when I park in my garage. That old original iPad is in use as a dedicated baby monitor, so its pretty much on all night long.
It’s great that Apple decided to continue to support both of these devices, at least it is great in theory, because in practice I kind of wish they hadn’t. Both devices are running iOS 5.1.1 and both are laggy and buggy. Updating apps on either is an exercise in patience and control to not throw the device against the nearest hard surface — entering the password for iTunes alone can even cause stuttering.
Don’t even get me started with how shitty the implementation of iTunes Match is on the 3GS, because only a masochist would like it. ((Which brings me to another point. If a masochist, by definition, is someone who gets pleasure from pain/etc, then wouldn’t it stand to reason that they should never endure something painful because failing to endure pain would be *more* painful for them, thus giving them more pleasure? Ah who cares…))
Now we learn that Apple is [offering](http://www.apple.com/ios/ios6/) iOS 6 support for the 3GS, but not the original iPad (which is newer and faster). I know why they are doing this: you can still “buy” a 3GS new — so they feel compelled to support it. Ok, but why not also support the iPad?
My guess: because Apple knows that iOS 6 is going to run even worse on the original iPad than iOS 5 does. So really Apple is doing iPad users a favor by not supporting it.
But what about the 3GS getting iOS 6? Why support these legacy devices, if said support is going to be pretty poor anyway? I never remember the original iPad being laggy and buggy, nor do I remember the 3GS being that way when it came out. Both seemed to work perfectly up and until the moment that iOS 5 was loaded on them (to be fair there were issues with iOS 4, but I can’t remember if that was the 3G or 3GS).
My point is: if you are going to do something, don’t half ass it.
As a daily user of a 3GS and an original iPad, I can say with 100% confidence that I *would be* better off not having put iOS 5 on either device, because iOS 5 optimization for either device feels and works like an after thought.
I am scared at what iOS 6 might bring for 3GS woes and I really do think Apple should abandon devices faster (for the user’s sanity) if they aren’t going to make sure that these new updates work just as well on the legacy devices.
I have tried a lot of the Mac banking apps and every time I come back to iBank. While I don’t use iBank on my iPhone — their new iPad app is really nice. It feels a bit sluggish to me right now, but looks great ((The icon: no, just no.)) and has a lot of…
I have tried a lot of the Mac banking apps and every time I come back to iBank. While I don’t use iBank on my iPhone — their new iPad app is really nice. It feels a bit sluggish to me right now, but looks great ((The icon: no, just no.)) and has a lot of functionality.
As a bonus tip (again thanks to [Justin Blanton](http://hypertext.net/2012/06/omnifocus-secure-webdav)): instead of using the default ‘WiFi’ sync option I setup a WebDAV sync, but since we are talking about financial data I used the excellent [CloudSafe](http://cloudsafe.com) service. I highly recommend CloudSafe because of the security it offers and the speed the service runs at — also it is really simple to use.
Luckily, Prashant Sachdeva has that question covered.
Luckily, Prashant Sachdeva has that question covered.
Sheel Mohnot: >In 1986, Apple decided to extend its brand… into clothing. And it wasn’t a black mock turtleneck and jeans. And it also wasn’t good…
Sheel Mohnot:
>In 1986, Apple decided to extend its brand… into clothing. And it wasn’t a black mock turtleneck and jeans.
And it also wasn’t good…
Luminous Landscape has a nice review up of the retina MacBook Pro. Two nice points in the review: 1. An explanation of why apps need to be “retina enabled”. 2. A comparison of drives on Thunderbolt versus USB 3.
Luminous Landscape has a nice review up of the retina MacBook Pro. Two nice points in the review:
1. An explanation of why apps need to be “retina enabled”.
2. A comparison of drives on Thunderbolt versus USB 3.
“Still, on balance, the TSA’s irrational half measures and out-of-date electronics policies don’t protect us all that well from terrorists. They do, however, make life miserable for the innocent.” — David Pogue
This may not be the most useful weather app out there, but in my opinion it *is* the most beautiful weather app in the App Store — down to the icon. Update: [I am being told](http://twitter.com/joestracci/status/217719336587112448) there is a bug in the app right now that keeps location services running (a fix is in the…
This may not be the most useful weather app out there, but in my opinion it *is* the most beautiful weather app in the App Store — down to the icon.
Update: [I am being told](http://twitter.com/joestracci/status/217719336587112448) there is a bug in the app right now that keeps location services running (a fix is in the works). (I disabled the apps access to location services in the Settings app to avoid this for now, but that makes the app not work.)
Apple launched their new Podcasts app — and this looks like a strong competitor/clone of Instacast, Downcast, et al. Interesting. Update: [Turns out there is also a `redeem` button in the new app](http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/06/26/redeem-button-in-new-podcasts-app-for-ios-points-to-possibility-of-paid-podcasts/). Interesting.
Apple launched their new Podcasts app — and this looks like a strong competitor/clone of Instacast, Downcast, et al. Interesting.
Update: [Turns out there is also a `redeem` button in the new app](http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/06/26/redeem-button-in-new-podcasts-app-for-ios-points-to-possibility-of-paid-podcasts/). Interesting.
It’s out and it truly is a very nice text editor. I may have to give it a go in place of TextMate — may.
It’s out and it truly is a very nice text editor. I may have to give it a go in place of TextMate — may.
Cisco is pimping a new router that has iOS apps that interact with it, and easy traffic priority. The first is a “finally” feature. The latter is completely useless to all but the most advanced users — who aren’t going to want this router any way. Cisco needs to focus on making a router [that…
Cisco is pimping a new router that has iOS apps that interact with it, and easy traffic priority. The first is a “finally” feature. The latter is completely useless to all but the most advanced users — who aren’t going to want this router any way.
Cisco needs to focus on making a router [that is better than what Apple offers](https://brooksreview.net/2012/06/wifi-routers/), because until then no one will care — and why should they? Who wants to spend time deciding which media device gets priority over the other? Not me, I have better things to complain about.
TheIndyChannel.com reporting on the latest TSA outrage, when a TSA agent inspected (by hand) the cremated remains of the a man’s grandfather — John Gross, was carrying the remains through the TSA checkpoint and said that after she spilled some of the remains on the ground, this is what happened: >”She didn’t apologize. She started laughing.…
TheIndyChannel.com reporting on the latest TSA outrage, when a TSA agent inspected (by hand) the cremated remains of the a man’s grandfather — John Gross, was carrying the remains through the TSA checkpoint and said that after she spilled some of the remains on the ground, this is what happened:
>”She didn’t apologize. She started laughing. I was on my hands and knees picking up bone fragments. I couldn’t pick up all, everything that was lost. I mean, there was a long line behind me.”
That just pisses me the fuck off. If this TSA agent isn’t fired, then everyone in the TSA with the power to fire her should be fired.
Oh and in case you are wondering, here’s the TSA’s own rules on screening cremated remains:
>But the agency’s own website says human remains are to be opened under, “no circumstances.”
Just announced: [The new, turbocharged Doxie Go.]((http://www.getdoxie.com/product/doxie-go/)) The next generation Doxie makes it easy to scan anywhere – no computer required – then sync to your favorite devices and the cloud. A major upgrade today adds lots of new features: legal size scanning, enhanced Dropbox integration, document signing & faxing with HelloFax, Basecamp integration, a…
Just announced: [The new, turbocharged Doxie Go.]((http://www.getdoxie.com/product/doxie-go/))
The next generation Doxie makes it easy to scan anywhere – no computer required – then sync to your favorite devices and the cloud. A major upgrade today adds lots of new features: legal size scanning, enhanced Dropbox integration, document signing & faxing with HelloFax, Basecamp integration, a beautiful new add-on carrying case, and much more.
Going paperless should be simple – with a brilliant design and great software, Doxie is the best way to scan all your paper, everywhere you go. [Now shipping worldwide.](http://www.getdoxie.com/product/doxie-go/)
What a fantastic solution — I had no idea that one could encrypt this data, but I just switched over to this. ((Don’t act surprised, and if you are: read this site more.))
What a fantastic solution — I had no idea that one could encrypt this data, but I just switched over to this. ((Don’t act surprised, and if you are: read this site more.))
Shawn Blanc: >Microsoft needs a compelling reason for customers to see the Surface as a legitimate computing device. And since they don’t (yet?) have a gangbusters App Store, they built keyboard cover instead. Not only do I think Shawn is spot on, I think this is very Microsoftian too. Well said.
Shawn Blanc:
>Microsoft needs a compelling reason for customers to see the Surface as a legitimate computing device. And since they don’t (yet?) have a gangbusters App Store, they built keyboard cover instead.
Not only do I think Shawn is spot on, I think this is very Microsoftian too. Well said.
The post isn’t in English (though there are others who have re-written the post, I figure you guys are savvy enough to know how to translate it), but shows some great images of where the heat on the new retina MacBook Pro is centered. This jives with what I recorded and noticed, again I never…
The post isn’t in English (though there are others who have re-written the post, I figure you guys are savvy enough to know how to translate it), but shows some great images of where the heat on the new retina MacBook Pro is centered.
This jives with what I recorded and noticed, again I never was able to get the machine hot enough to warrant even a slight discomfort — then again I steered clear of Flash and Adobe in general.
After I posted my retina MacBook Pro review this weekend, a couple of readers pointed out some articles talking about ghosting issues. I haven’t seen it, but it sounds like some are and that some are getting replacements from Apple. As McCarty notes in the linked post, this is a common problem with IPS displays.…
After I posted my retina MacBook Pro review this weekend, a couple of readers pointed out some articles talking about ghosting issues. I haven’t seen it, but it sounds like some are and that some are getting replacements from Apple. As McCarty notes in the linked post, this is a common problem with IPS displays.
*(Here’s hoping my early adopter nature doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass.)*
Jeffrey Rosen reporting on “the right to be forgotten” on the web: >But the right to be forgotten also gives people the right to demand the removal of embarrassing information that others post about them, regardless of its source, unless Google or Facebook can prove to a European regulator that the information is part of…
Jeffrey Rosen reporting on “the right to be forgotten” on the web:
>But the right to be forgotten also gives people the right to demand the removal of embarrassing information that others post about them, regardless of its source, unless Google or Facebook can prove to a European regulator that the information is part of a legitimate journalistic, literary, or artistic exercise.
The paranoid, privacy nut, side of me is very happy about this. The blogger side of me is very worried about the implications of: “legitimate journalistic, literary, or artistic exercise”. Beyond that: how is this even enforceable — practically speaking…
Megan Garber reporting on a patent, owned by Apple, that could help users remain private on the web: > The overall point, the patent text notes, is to “make any data collection about a principal less valuable and less reliable.” Hmm, now this is *just* a patent, but man if that doesn’t seem like a…
Megan Garber reporting on a patent, owned by Apple, that could help users remain private on the web:
> The overall point, the patent text notes, is to “make any data collection about a principal less valuable and less reliable.”
Hmm, now this is *just* a patent, but man if that doesn’t seem like a threat to Facebook and Google. Here’s hoping Apple does implement something this cool.
Justin Blanton on the ‘Apple sets all laptop screens at 70 degrees’ story: >Can we all agree too that *no matter what angle a laptop screen is at when a customer approaches it*, that person will move the screen so she can see it better, because of preference, stature, lighting, etc.? Who starts playing around…
Justin Blanton on the ‘Apple sets all laptop screens at 70 degrees’ story:
>Can we all agree too that *no matter what angle a laptop screen is at when a customer approaches it*, that person will move the screen so she can see it better, because of preference, stature, lighting, etc.? Who starts playing around with a laptop they’re thinking about buying and *doesn’t* adjust the screen?
I thought I was the only one around that wasn’t impressed or surprised about that story. it all sounds like common sense and not some big secret.
Now if J.C. Penny starts showing clothes at 70 degrees, then we have a story.