Thanks for sharing that. I hadn't seen that one before and it strikes me as very appropriate for the way I see things.
Thanks again. Seriously.
169 karma · joined December 10, 2010
Thanks again. Seriously.
Second, the case they recommend is complete trash. I'd suggest spending a few extra dollars on a quality power supply. The one they recommend has a PSU with the case, and it isn't compatible with north american voltages. So get something better there.
No one is really going to plug a PC into a television to play modern warfare 3 (I'd hope). Not when you can spend less on a console and get the same experience. Granted, my personal preference for shooters is a keyboard and mouse but I'm not huge into these shooters anymore.
That said, I'd just spend the cash on a console and spare myself the cheap parts that they have recommended. Expect to spend at least $500-750 for a reasonable machine that won't start your house on fire, die within a few months, or cause you headaches down the road.
I'd pass.
At what point do you admit to yourself you love your life and want to continue to live?
At that point, that's when shamelessness and modesty are thrown on the window and you do what you can to try to survive.
Now with Sprint, since they effectively make your GV number your phone number, you can call contacts from your iPhone Contacts and without any mumbo jumbo in between appear as though your GV number is the one calling. Because it is.
I was merely saying, maybe in a hyperbolic way, that his attitude rubs me the wrong way. It bothers me that such a high profile example of a "successful" indie developer can be so abrasive towards others on his podcast.
Yes, the app is nice, the latest version is stellar looking. But this is one of those "speaking with my wallet" moments. Sad fact is I've already paid for the Pro version, but I won't be paying him again unless I see the attitude change. That's probably fine by him too. He doesn't strike me as the type of person to be bothered by someone voicing their opinion of him. Needless to say, you put yourself out there and become a "indie" developer heart-throb you get some of the good with the bad. That was his choice. He writes publicly, he speaks publicly on his podcast. It's the same thing with any other person in that type of position.
As for podcasts, there's definitely better out there that I'd recommend way before his.
The fact that he comes across the way he does makes me not want to use his app or recommend it, or listen to his show.
Again, he may be perfectly fine in person, but he isn't showing me any good reason to not "dislike" him online.
You know what I'm talking about. The new guy that's quiet because no one knows him outside of "hey, he's the new guy." But as you get to know him, and he becomes more comfortable he starts to show who he really is as he becomes more outspoken.
Now, I don't want to say to not be yourself, and you can't please everyone. But I preferred the first 5-6 episodes of B&A over all the others. He was humble and interesting. Somewhere between 7-15 the humble was disappearing and the interesting vanished.
The title of it is "Build & Analyze" right? So, it should be about "building" things (whether that be coding, building said code, or as a metaphor for other things in life) and "analyzing" things related to the same... code or life.
But instead there is very little discussion of building... and the analyzing is ranty and uninspired.
One of the recommendations I made was Hypercritical with John Siracusa. Let's compare and contrast a bit..
Siracusa is one of those guys that just knows how to take something, whittle it down to nothing and find the faults. There's nothing wrong with finding fault in things. There will _always_ be faults, however big or small. The difference is in how Siracusa talks about them. He's critical of things to the point of beating a dead horse. Hypercritical is perfect for his podcast. Probably the most apt name I've ever seen for a podcast. But when he discusses these faults he provides some of the best examples he can come up with for _why_ he feels that way, and/or _how_ the faults they could be corrected.
Marco on the other hand just. Complains. I think he tried in the beginning to provide just cause for his complaining. But in the end he failed to be able to do it consistently. Instead, the podcast turned into another version of The Talk Show. At least with the Talk Show Gruber can be entertaining. Though I rarely listen unless the show notes show me something interesting. But Marco is trying to emulate Gruber and failing hard. Even his blog is taking on the same type of thing with a tiny bit more iOS discussion.
Either way. People can make their own opinion. I just hoped to make it a quick way for people to know to avoid it. If they're like me and they find annoying dick-ish podcast hosts to be on the do-not-listen list then they know right away that Build & Analyze isn't for them.
He used to be pretty humble in the first dozen episodes, but he's slowly gotten a big head and turned into a dick. At least from my perspective.
I don't recommend his app any longer, instead, I suggest people use one of it's competitors, Read It Later.
Again, the podcast isn't so much about building apps as it is a soapbox for him to complain about other applications and other developers. While he does discuss some of the aspects of Instapaper, he may as well have called the podcast something else. If you're expecting developer oriented discussion there are better podcasts to listen to.
If you're going to spend time listening to a 5by5 podcast, I suggest two that are much better. Hypercritical with John Siracusa. John at least knows how to complain while being constructive, unlike Marco. The second would be The Incomparable, on a totally different topic but very worthwhile.
As as example of marco being an ass. Just listen to any of the podcasts from 10-onward. Also, listen especially to the programming episodes where he tries to argue against Siracusa but instead sounds like a whiny brat.
edit: Keep on down voting people. Seriously. It's called an opinion. If you don't like it, too bad. But it helps people make a valid attempt at determining whether they want to listen to something, or read something, otherwise spending their time with something. Make your own opinion of the podcast and Marco. But down voting simply because my opinion is different than yours is just stupid.
The original iPhone was called "iPhone." No 2G in the name. Yes, it was using a 2G network, but it was NOT the iPhone 2G. The iPhone 3G and 3GS (maybe) were the only named phones based on their network connectivity.
1. iPhone 2. iPhone 3G 3. iPhone 3GS 4. iPhone 4 5. iPhone 4S
So while you have a possible chance of the next iPhone being called the iPhone 6 based on past naming schemes, that doesn't make your argument correct.
Also, Apple can call their phones whatever they want. There wasn't an iPhone 2 but that doesn't mean there can't be an iPhone 5.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but that's your own fault for being so damn confusing. You seem to be struggling between understanding the "G" to mean phone generation instead of network generation.
Either way is great, but Bitbucket makes it easier for sharing if that's needed.
I don't see the point in registering with apple a particular phrase. Wasn't part of the reasoning behind new hardware being required was that much of the translation is being done ON the phone, not in "the cloud"? Or is this now wrong?
I'm going under the assumption that Siri translates words to text/commands on the phone device. It then determines whether that command is "local" or "remote." If local, it does whatever it needs (create an alarm, add a calendar event). If remote, send it to the Siri servers for them to process.
In the case of apps, they'd all be local. The app could remotely access data required on it's own, not needing the Siri servers for that. So, just like the new notification preferences, Siri gets a preference that gives you a list of all commands, and for those commands you can select which application responds to it. Obviously there may be better ways to handle the interface, Apps may have their own preferences and you can tell the app to register it's commands. Regardless, there are better minds thinking of this stuff than my own.
So, in this particular scenario, there's no need to "phrase squat" or anything. The whole idea of this article seems ridiculous given how I interpret how Siri functions. Which again, could be wrong.
You guys have done great work in the past. But you've taken things a bit far this time. You win some you lose some, but you helped set expectations way too high and that resulted in some serious disappointment for a lot of people.
Between your terrible moderators, insanely stupid forum readers, and this, I have no desire to really read your site anymore.
That said, the stock lost some ground, but the thing with Apple's stock, it always goes up before and after their quarterly earnings calls. They continue to defy the numbers people expect from it.
Their profits are going to continue to rise, and with it, so will the stock. The geeks that have to have the new shiny will be disappointed, however, the casual user will love the iPhone 4S and it well sell like crazy. At least just as well as the iPhone 4.
Were we all hoping to see an "iPhone 5" ? Yup. I think we all were hoping, however little, that it would show up. But many of us with any sense of reasoning and logic regarding Apple have pretty much known that this update was going to be almost exactly what it was. Apple is on a two year design plan. Excuse the original iPhone since that was the exception (again, not that the iPhone 5 couldn't have been one as well). But if you look at it now, it becomes a lot more clear. iPhone 3G-> iPhone 3GS (Faster processor, more ram and the same design). iPhone 4->iPhone 4S (Faster processor, probably more ram, same design).
Next year we'll see a new case design, and maybe it'll resemble the tapered design that has been rumored. I'm kind of hoping against it since it would be awkward to hold in landscape orientation. Something that is curved in both directions would be neat. As long as it is symetrical. The problem with a "banana" shape is that it would no longer sit flat on a desk and that would bother me.
I'm pretty happy with the iPhone4/4S case. I kind of wish it was a bit more curved on the edges since I find the metal "mid-case" to be a bit sharp, not a cut you kind of sharp, but it could be more blunt and thus more comfortable in your hand. Think more pebble shaped with regard to the sides.
It may be old looking, but aside from processing power, graphics performance and "retina" display, it is a perfectly fine phone for the low end market.
I doubt even Amazon would sell it under the cost to manufacture, these studies are stupid since they are taking a pricing guide and then estimating how many they're going to sell and coming up with a number. I'm sure they're relatively close, but the only way to tell for sure is to be Amazon and look at their books. Simple as that.
Cost to replace defective units, cost for support… all those little costs add up and make me think there's no way in hell amazon is selling it at a loss.
Don't try to kid yourself into thinking they expect to make up for it in media sales either. That just isn't good business sense. Particularly when your product is different enough from the iPad that you don't need to hit that magic $200 price tag unless you are going to actually make money on it.
They're making money on it with every sale. It may not be a lot, but they're making money.
One of my single biggest complaints UI-wise, was the menu button. Simple things that should be easy to accomplish were always hidden in that menu.
I worked in a retail store that sold electronics and speaker products. One of those products allowed phones to play their music through it. People love the idea of Pandora. But nearly EVERY Android user couldn't figure out how to create more than one station on the device and told me they had to use their computer to do it.
Now, maybe it isn't so hard to hit the menu button. But it effectively made major features hidden and put in a none-obvious way (by non-obvious I mean a good number of people weren't able to find it easily).
That's the kind of UI issue I think Android has that iOS doesn't. iOS has some hidden things but those are _usually_ power user things and aren't required to make the app function normally.
This is one of the things that most Android users seem to neglect understanding.
Sure, iOS didn't get Copy and Paste first, nor did it get Multi-tasking first. But, what it did do (arguably) is take those two things and make them a lot more useful than the equivalent on Android. By arguably I am mostly discussing Multi-tasking, as the differences in opinion here vary person to person. Some people like the fact that Android can multi-task to the end of the earth, but dislike the fact battery issues become a real problem. Meanwhile other users are content giving up some of their multi-tasking freedom for better battery life.
The same is going to be true of voice input on iOS. From the sounds of it, it will go well above and beyond what Android offers. The simple fact that the rumors (again, these could be wrong as we all know, so I'm speculating) indicate the iPhone 4S/5 are required for processing and ram reasons seem to tell us that the voice input part COULD be done entirely within iOS, not requiring the internet unless looking up internet enabled services (table reservation, weather, etc).
The same is true of the "drop-down notifications" you mention. Sure, Android had it first. I don't think anyone has said otherwise. But the way they implemented it is a lot better. One, the notifications (if you want) pop up on the main lock screen. Swipe the app icon from left to right and it takes you to that notification. No need to unlock, swipe the menu at the top, click the notification. The ability to remove a single apps notifications from the tray as opposed to clearing all is another nice addition. The ability to determine which applications show up in the notification tray. If you choose, some apps can be pop-up dialog boxes like they are in iOS4, some can be just numbers near the app icon, while some can be in the notification tray. I don't see that in Android.
Again, maybe some "skin" on top of Android can do these things, but that is half the problem not all Android devices will have these features. Sure, most of the people that argue Android is so awesome have no problem rooting and fiddling with their devices, but that will prevent mass market adoption if one of these features becomes a big deal right?
Generally iOS provides a much better experience for users. There are some ways that Android is better, some ways that iOS is better. I don't think there's really anything wrong with that. But Android users seem to be so damn hell-bent on being better, "oh but Android is activating more devices" blah blah blah.
Why can't everyone just shut the hell up and use what works for them instead of being dicks about it? Civil discussions are great, I think the original article for this story was a pretty civil discussion. Meanwhile, the hacker news discussion gets all pissy with people mindlessly arguing that their preferred OS is better.
This I think is something you have a hard time understanding, sir.
I just can't enjoy reading or listening to him anymore.
Sometimes it's best to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. Or something like that anyway. The more Marco opens his mouth the more of a fool I think he is.
I enjoyed Build and Analyze (his podcast at 5by5) in the beginning, but he got to the point where he was just being more and more obnoxious.
He's not Gruber, yet he seems to be trying to be Gruber.
Ah well, this is just another of his predictions that has gone wrong.
There was another big thing that happened, 11,000 public libraries using Overdrive get to lend books to Kindle users now.
I think the above rumor, and the recent support of the Kindle with Overdrive enabled libraries are one and the same.
That said, I don't see Libraries disappearing anytime soon. If these are different rumors, then let's take the rumor that free lending of books via Amazon Prime. I read somewhere (it may be in that article) that it may be a back catalog of older books. Classics and things. Public Libraries using Overdrive have some selection of newer books that Amazon Prime would then not be lending users.
That means if you're interested in newer books, well, your only option is to purchase the book (digital or dead tree) or borrow it from the local library (digital or dead tree). Since Amazon wouldn't be lending newer releases.
At what point in their "Humble Beginnings" do you suggest they start thinking about making some money and becoming self-sustaining?
Somewhere along the way they need to focus on being able to provide for themselves. Otherwise it's a giant ponzi scheme where all you get are investors investing in a product that won't return their investment.
How young they are? That is a criteria for whether a company should be making money or not? The point of any company really is to make money. These "startups" aren't filing as non-profits right? So they should be making money. If after the first couple months of being open you aren't figuring out how to make money you've done something wrong.
EDIT: Let me edit this to make it more clear. They should be self-sustaining. They should be able to pay their bills and employees. Whether they make a profit or not isn't the point. But if a company doesn't get funding and that alone causes them to disappear then they've done something wrong.
But that actually comes down to the same thing. The reasons Gruber likes WP7 is because it cut the cord with all previous versions. It's a fresh start. Which Gruber feels was needed. I actually agree with him on this point.
Now, where the problem comes with regard to Windows 8 is simply that there is no cutting the cord with past versions. It still has all that legacy support in it and keeps getting more convuluted. Even more now that there is support for two different processor families.
Windows 8 would be a great chance to slice away some of the old legacy crap.
This is simply an example of where Apple has really excelled when they've been in a similar situation. Not that the x86/ARM thing is exactly the same. Apple's was a transition, while Microsofts is in Addition to. But Apple provided tools to make the user experience seamless while Microsoft is making it more difficult for average users to understand.
Getting old.. really old.
Is the hardware capable of letting you do coding and what not? Sure. But at the limitation of keeping it appealing to the masses? Probably not.
It's simple. There is more money to be made on the average consumer than the much rarer programmer/power user.
If you don't like that then I guess you should be happy there are alternatives that maybe one day will do what you want. But as it stands, not even Android (the "power user" OS, if you want to even call it that) doesn't even do what you want without rooting it.
Point is, what the GP wants isn't really something we'll see for the time being. Being cranky about it isn't going to change things.