Apple’s got a pretty rock-solid line of iPods for Christmas this year, led by the new iPod Nano and iPod Touch. Most interesting is how the role of the iPod Touch has changed drastically from last year where it was simply marketed as a ‘widescreen iPod’, to being touted as the ‘funnest’ mobile gaming platform.
Not one of the best keynotes in Steve’s history, but definitely worth watching. And if you look closely, you may see some of the nifty, unannounced Keynote ’09 effects that Steve showed off.
(Via Gruber)
Brett Peters on The Keys To The Kingdom -
By rejecting applications based on whim instead of policy, Apple has brought every developer’s fear to pass — that they can invest time working on an application, only to have it arbitrarily never make it to market. This in turn drives developers to other platforms, and encourages those who stay on it to take fewer risks. And that leads to fewer truly great applications on the iPhone.
This debate has been sparked by Apple rejecting an application that would turn your iPhone into a Whoopie Cushion. The app doesn’t violate any part of Apple’s guidelines, yet it was rejected due to its “limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod touch user community”.
The restrictiveness of the AppStore makes sense on a mobile platform. But it remains unclear whether Apple is just filter for malicious apps, or if they have the ultimate authority on whether an app is deemed “acceptable” for the iPhone/iPod Touch platform. When the AppStore launched, many complained about the sheer amount of junk and useless apps cluttering up the store. Now those same people are complaining about the rejection of a “useless” app.
Apple needs to have a consistent policy. They need to treat the AppStore like Mac development. Apple shouldn’t be the third-party that determines if iPhone users want the application—let the iPhone users do that. Create a better system for good apps to move to the top, and the ‘noise’ will be left in the dark corners of the AppStore.
Really, that’s Apple’s only hope for the AppStore. If developers feel that an application is not worth developing simply because Apple may reject it, the number of innovative, new iPhone apps will diminish.
Interesting Flickr mashup that continually loads photos as you scroll to the bottom of the page, simulating an endless web page. Pretty nifty.
Chris Bowler on Things Touch –
It’s not all peaches and cream though. As good as syncing is between the desktop and your handheld device, it could be improved. I don’t actually refer to the syncing itself, but rather the initiation thereof. To initiate a sync, you must have Things open on your computer, be on the same wifi network and then open Things on your iPhone/iPod Touch. Having to be on the same network doesn’t bother me, but there are times when I head out without opening Things on the touch and it is always a few tasks off from the desktop.
And if you add this inconvenience to the fact that it’s easier to write something down on paper than it is to add a new task to Things using the iPhone keyboard and one thing becomes clear—the usefulness of having a copy of your task management data with you at all times may be fairly minimal. At least in this form factor.
While Chris touts the interface and day-to-day functions as top notch, syncing and capture seem to be two of the crucial areas of improvement needed.
In a portable task management system, I want two things (no pun intended)—fast, simple capture, and syncing with my computer. Paper has the advantage over digital in capture: you can quickly jot down ideas and notes at any time. However, paper provides no way to sync, copy, or duplicate those notes in any way, without recapturing them digitally.
There is a huge opportunity for an iPhone/iPod Touch app that will simply allow you to get your ideas down as fast as possible. Organization can be tedious; it can be done later on the computer. Keyboards, and even multi-touch aren’t fast enough means on mobile devices for inputting thoughts. Voice may be the way to go, and while Jott comes close, it is far from perfect.
Give me an iPhone app with fast input, and automatic syncing. Throw in a little flair of location awareness, and you have a killer product.
Restless
It began last night.
It’s hard to describe if you’ve never experienced it before. It’s a restless feeling. A dissatisfaction with your current state, your current work, and your current results. It’s a longing to do something—anything—that matters. Something that counts.
Not making sense, or hitting close to home?
Being the biggest critic of my own work often leaves me reflecting on where I am and where I’m going. I don’t want to live in the same monotonous cycle of life that so many people do—pumping out rhetoric projects, day in and day out. I’m frustrated with the typical cycle of eating, sleeping, and going to school only to come out on the other end a perfected robot from the mold that our society has defined.
I guess I’m exaggerating at this point.
Tomorrow is the start of a new school year. Grade 11. And while school is a major part of every student’s life, I can’t help but feel limited by it. In all practicality, it is absurd to believe that one’s education is a mere “one size fits all” formula that we can simply take and apply to everyone in the world and expect perfect results. Yes, some may fit the mold, and are often regarded by our society as the “intelligent beings”. Others may feel uncomfortable with the mold, and grow to view at school as a negative. And some will fall completely out of the mold, where they can do one of two things:
Drop out, or endure.
None of these categories are any better or worse than any other. Yet they all provide their own unique set of challenges. And I find myself falling into the third category.
When people ask the inevitable question of “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, I have no answer for them. Not because I haven’t spent hours upon hours thinking about it—quite the opposite actually. I can’t answer them because most of my goals and dreams don’t fall into a specific group or template that society has previously defined.
Quite the precarious place to be.
I’ve concluded that I will be satisfied with nothing less than doing what I love. And too often do people settle for less than the best because of the limitations in their lives. Having both age and school as factors that are currently holding me back from accomplishing some of my dreams, I’ve decided to tackle them as best I could.
This year, I will be completing both Grade 11 and 12. Finishing fifteen credits in a period of ten months. Sure, it’s going to be a lot of work, but I can’t recall ever being this excited about going back to school. Because I know that I will be working like crazy towards my dreams. It can’t get much better than that.
At the same time, I will be focusing on some other priorities in my life as well. Primarily, consistently writing on this blog, developing my love for photography, and podcasting on Discovr (which I am pouring new life into as of September). I also have a few other hobbies in mind, that I am interested in pursuing over this next year.
What will I do after this year, when I’m done with high school? I’m not sure yet. But I sure that if I keep pursuing my dreams and pointing myself in the right direction, the right path will be revealed.
