Apple Has Become What It Despised

As I read Steve Jobs lately, extolling the virtues of the iPad/iPod/iPhone and their company controlled markets and development, I realize that his company has become what it claimed it hated back in 1984.




One of his companies big complaints in 1984 was there was no way to customize your PC. Everything was as "Big Blue" said it would be. The Mac was changing all of that with a customizable desktop and easier way to do things.

Now today he sings the praises of every iPhone and iPad having the exact same look and layout.

As a guy on his second Android phone I will say I like the customization. The standard Android setup on my Samsung model was alright, but I wanted a little more. I could add it myself through skins, or whatever. Those are verboten in the iStore, Apple controls the look and feel. Now with my HTC unit I like the 5 main screens and some of their included widgets. Who knows, I may look at Motorola next.

Now I'm looking at Tablet's. My first reaction to the iPad is cool, but too big, too expensive. While Jobs hates the idea of a 7 inch screen I actually like it compared to the 10" screen on an iPad. If I want to use it as a reader, not just a PC replacement 7" is just about right. 10 is too much to lay in bed with (shut up ladies).

Unlike some folks I don't see a tablet PC as a replacement for my notebook or desktop. More of an augmentation. Nice to use to quickly check e-mail, surf the net etc., but not great for doing anything major, real keyboards still work better for that.

So, now I'll wait until after the xMas rush and then start looking. Having looked at the iPad, I know I won't be getting one of those.

Read The Full Post!

Cool New Stuff

New Years Day I got a new Samsung Moment phone. It's one of those "android phones" that runs a slim version of Linux on it. So far I'm loving the thing, though I've been told I shouldn't since it doesn't have the latest and greatest version of Android. I'm thinking if I like this version this much, when the next update comes out in a month or so, I should be that much happier.

I can now get my home and work e-mail on the phone, which is great for those times I don't have my laptop set up and ready to use and need to read something from work. Today I found Google Synch, which allows me to synchronize the calendar on my phone (which is through gmail) and my outlook clients on both home and work computers.

So now instead of putting stuff into the phone, or the work or the home, or worse, all 3 calendars, if I put it in one within 3 hours or so all of them will be up to date. That's pretty handy.

Another cool toy I found today was a barcode scanner program. Hold a barcode up to the phone's camera. It will look it up, and then if you want search for the product online, and give you the prices. Not 100% accurate, but pretty cool to play with, should be great for checking prices in stores.

Read The Full Post!