Somewhere to Rant

This is a test

2010-09-05T10:49:00.001+01:00

Techy people are socially maladjusted

2010-08-30T12:41:00.001+01:00

I've just had the pleasure of looking at various forums looking for information on three distinct issues. 1. Motorcycle parts
2. Photography advice
3. Application recommendations Two of these were nice simple experiences with helpful advice and the impression that everyone was on the same side. The other has once again caused me to rethink on the morality of forced sterilisation. I'll paraphrase of course, but the interactions amongst these user communities went something like this.

Motorcycles
Question: Im looking to take my bike touring and have questions about equipment. Answers: 'We don't ride the same marque as you, but here are our recommendations and We hope you have a good time and stay safe'.

Photography
Question: What technique would you use when shooting....?
Answers: 'What equipment do you have? Really so your one of those people, oh well no-ones perfect! I'd suggest using a tripod or monopod. If you've really a steady hand you may get away with shooting handheld - try practicing at these settings and make sure you share those images with us.'

Tech
Question: Does anyone know of an application that can perform this function?
Answers: 'You use a different brand of computer to me, so therefore I despise you with a passion previously only reserved for Hitler.' Or 'Are you stupid, why are you running the Pear 123, when the Pear 124 has been out at least 3 weeks?' Or 'I have no need of an application that works in that fashion, therefore one could not possibly exist and you must be a fool for even thinking that such a thing could be useful.' Or ''I have no experience In this field which makes my opinion far more valid the those of the adults that are having a sensible discussion. If you do not bow to my superiority, I will call you all names and say that you are out of touch with the modern computer user'. I weep.

Posted via email from Somewhere to Rant

My home in the Arse Crack of Guernsey

2010-08-27T23:07:00.001+01:00

I noticed today that Google have updated their imagery for Guernsey in Google Earth. In doing so they have also confirmed something I have suspected for quite some time.

I live in the arse crack of the island.

This is Guernsey on an obviously glorious day. No clouds, no shadows.

As we zoom in we can see the detail in these fresh images. Note how bright, green and appealing the island looks in the sunshine. All except for one small scar of shadow, and at the end of that shadow a single black hole of darkness.

In the center of that black hole? Yes you've guessed it... My home.

Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from Somewhere to Rant

Living with an iPad

2010-08-22T18:38:00.001+01:00

Living with an iPad

Shortly after the announcement of the ipad, I wrote a opinion piece about my initial impressions based on the reveal keynote. At the time I surmised that I thought it would be successful, but that I could not see a need that could fulfill with my own computer usage.

I’ve had an iPad for a couple of months now, and whilst I will still roll my eyes at the marketing speak; I have to say that it has been an absolute pleasure to use and live with. As a device it has changed the way that I interact with my computer and the way in which I consume content.

My own iPad is a 32GB 3G model. I use it on a daily basis in multiple locations for just about everything that I can think of but what I’d like to do today is take you through a typical days usage.

the closest thing that my iPad has to a home is the the charging cradle on my nightstand. After cursing and silencing my morning alarm, I’ll grab the iPad and go through what has now become part of my morning routine. First I’ll check my e-mail then I’ll check the weather forecast for the day.

The weather app that I use is WeatherHD.

Whilst not the most detailed weather app (if it detail that I want, then I check the excellent WeatherPro), it does have the most beautiful animated screens. Next I’ll check the mornings headlines from various newspapers using RSS feeds compiled in the Pulse Newreader.

If anything catches my eye then I can read the feed, or go directly to the website without having to leave the App.

If I find an article interesting and think that my friends of anyone else may find it interesting; I can send the link to the story via Twitter or I can republish the story via Posterous and it will be available to view here - http://nezza.pulsememe.com/. If it is particularly long article and I don’t have time to read it now, I can send the story to Instapaper which which will enable me to read it later through any internet enable device or even off line using the iPhone or iPad app. I can also choose to publish any webpage that I view in Safari (the iPad web-browser) to Posterous or read later in Instapaper just by saving a small bookmarklet in my bookmarks.

As a subscriber to Apples overpriced and under-featured MobileMe service and changes that I make to Safari’s bookmarks, iCal events, contacts in Address Book and my e-mail inbox will be synched to all my other MobileMe enabled devices so I needn't worry about having to mark e-mails as read or delete them on my main Mac. All this happens on the fly, and really is a ‘set it and forget it’ service. Just a shame about the cost.

At work I’ve started implementing the iPad into my daily workflow. I primarily use it to maintain a daily task list in an app named Sorted.

Using sorted, I can list my tasks for the day, assign priorities and add notes and due dates. I can mark items as complete and rearrange the tasks. Whilst I do have a task list application on my work computer, it is unfortunately part of Lotus Notes and has been so unusable that I always kept my task lists on paper which invariably ended up getting lost and rewritten each day. Just by keeping my notes on the iPad I’m saving a little time each day.

Another application which I use a lot at work is Soundpaper. This is primarily a note taking app with a couple of twists. First being that you are able to record a conversation as you take notes using either the on-screen keyboard, or by sketching. After you have finished recording, simply tap on a word or a sketch and the audio will jump to the point in the timeline when that note was made.

Part of my job is to create new procedures and provide training to go with them. Part of our team is based in Bangalore, and this means that I spend a fair amount of time in conference calls during which a great deal gets discussed. As the team aren’t just based across the office it has always been a very time consuming task to communicate when looking for a simple clarification or reminder of what was said. By using Soundpaper, I can now just refer to my notes and then listen to exactly what was said at the time. A great time saver and a really useful tool .

One other app that I use for work is Autodesk SketchBook. This is a great drawing application and in the hands of a talented person (i.e. not me) can produce great works

When I was younger I was pretty well into drawing and sketching. Every now and again I think that I’ll try my hand at it again, put a bit of practice in and then stop.

One of my self justifications for purchasing the iPad was that I could use it as a digital sketchpad and get back into the groove. I haven’t done that yet... but I have started using sketchpad in an unexpected way - I’m basically using it it to do rough mock-ups for new screens and reports that I need to create at work. Previously I’d do all these with an A4 notepad a a ruler, but it meant that I couldn’t quickly e-mail it off without scanning it, or work on it when an idea struck at home. Again this another or those processes where simply replacing the pen and paper is making my work life easier.

A few weeks ago I was out of the office with a chest infection when we had a problem with one of our spreadsheets. My boss gave me a call and set-up a WebEx meeting, then using the official client I was able to join the meeting, view his screen highlight the problem on screen and walk through the fix.

Not bad a for a supposed toy!

Of course it can’t all be work, work, work and with me that is more true then with most. So how does the iPad figure in my downtime?

I’m a veracious reader. I love books, I love the escapism of fantasy sci-fi or the stories that come from the great human adventures. When Waterstones first brought the Sony Reader to Britain, I was pretty much first in the queue and had used e-books ever since.

The iPad has now replaced my Sony Reader as my primary reading device. Whilst the screen is not quite as pleasant to read as the e-ink display, it is perfectly acceptable. I primarily use the Amazon Kindle app as it has by far the largest range of commercial books available where I live. iBooks is a nice app, but the content and price just can’t compete yet.

I’m also a self confessed geek, and as described above a story geek as well. That puts me right in the demographic for comic books. I’ve always liked Marvel but Guernsey has tended to be something of a black hole when it comes to actually getting hold of comics themselves. With the official Marvel (and DC) apps I now have them available at last.

This really is an area where the iPad shines. The screen displays the artwork beautifully, but can also be used in a guided reading mode, which fills the screen with the just a single panel and scrolls to the next with a tap to the edge of the screen.

There is also a ton of free contact available, so this is one of my favourite apps.

Like with books and comics I have stopped buying dead-tree versions of magazines altogether with one very notable exception. Some magazines such as Wired have released an individual app allowing the download of versions of the magazine that make the most of the iPads interface. Other magazines are available through a service named Zinio.

I currently subscribe to Rolling Stone and Smithsonian magazines. When a new issue is available, it simply appears in my library and I can download it over wi-fi. I can also delete the magazine after reading to save space, but download it again later if I so desire.

Now the one magazine that I cannot get is National Geographic. The magazine is available in a digital format, and in fact a sample issue was available for me to download. However I am unable to subscribe, or even purchase individual issues as they are unavailable outside the United State. So a member of the society, donator and even part of the International Readership Panel I can’t actually read a magazine that is intended for an international audience. How this is meant to benefit the consumer is a question best left for another article.

A couple of other apps that I use frequently are BBC iPlayer. Whilst not an offical app that you can download. The beeb have created a website that takes advantage of the iPads interface. By adding a link to the site on my homescreen it functions the same as an app.

The quality is fantastic and is a very nice way to watch QI whenever I want.

Pocket Tunes allows me to listen to pretty much every radio station that I can think of, and hundreds more that I’ve never heard of .

I can also record streams to listen again later, download podcast and thanks to a bit of trickery using iTunes have the streams play in the background as if it were a normal audio file played through the iPod app.

The Official Tottenham Hotspur app is actually an iPhone app but is perfectly usable on the iPad. Although a small subscription fee is needed to get the best out of the app it means that I am able to get video highlights of every Spurs game, but also a live audio commentary stream for each game. I can also received news and score updates sent to me as they happen.

As it is an iPhone app the video quality isn’t the greatest, but it is perfectly watchable when in motion. The screenshot makes the stream look much worse then it really is. This app however is one of the few things that I really couldn’t recreate on my Mac. Also Spurs offer SpursTVOnline, the streams are all DRM’d and cannot be watched outside of the Windows Media Player environment.

Still on the sports theme with the official MotoGP timing app.

By far the most expensive app that I’ve bought at £14.99 (now reduced to £6.99 as half the season has gone) it does do its best to justify the high price tag. Each race weekend, I am able to received the same timing screens available to the teams at the circuit. I can also see a 3d visualiation of the track and see the positions of the riders as they progress, along with text commentary. it really does add a whole new dimension to the race as I can see what Colin Edwards is doing even if the TV director isn’t showing us viewers at all

The race weekend also include all practice and qualifying sessions for all classes (MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc) so there is a lot of content. Each session is also available to download and view at any time. After the weekend is finished, video highlights are made available to view.

One last sports application is ESPN ScoreCenter XL. Although primarily US sports focused the app does have a very good selection of world sport including the Premier League and Champions League. I really got into NFL after visiting last year, so this is a great way for me to keep up to date. For the US sports there are often video highlights available and in-play comments. For the baseball there are play-by-play updates. I don’t know about the NFL as I’ve not had the app during a season yet, but I would be shocked if there isn’t extensive coverage.

Last but not least we come to gaming. Despite the best efforts, I’ve never really viewed the iPhone as a gaming device. Simply the screen is too small to be comfortable with touch controls as your fingers cover so much of the action. The greater size of the iPad goes a long way to alleviate that problem, but there are times when I wish for manual sticks and buttons. The selection of games is large and varied and there are prices to suit all wallets. Whilst it wouldn’t replace a 360 or a PS3, I’d happily leave the DS or PSP behind on a holiday.

So that completes a look at the way in which I use my ipad on a day-to-day basis. I love having all this info available in a truly portable package that is comfortable to use at any place or time. Whether at a desk or lying in bed the user experience doesn’t change. The last word should really be given to the battery life. In short it is phenomenal. After a day of wi-fi,3G and graphically intensive games usage and its still above the 50% mark last thing at night.

To butcher the old Mars advertising slogan - ‘an iPad can really help you work, rest and play’.

Posted via email from Somewhere to Rant

Living with an iPad

2010-08-22T18:15:00.001+01:00

Shortly after the announcement of the ipad I wrote a opinion piece about my initial impressions based on the reveal keynote. At the time I surmised that I thought it would be successful, but that I could not see a need that could fulfill with my own computer usage.

My own iPad is a 32GB 3G model. I use it on a daily basis in multiple locations for just about everything that I can think of but what I’d like to do today is take you through a typical days usage.

Somewhere to Rant

This is a test

Techy people are socially maladjusted

My home in the Arse Crack of Guernsey

Living with an iPad

Living with an iPad

Woo hoo, just agreed to buy new motorbik...

Testboo

Charlies Birthday - a set on Flickr

Panorama from AutoStitch

One last posterous test

NFL Wembley - Patriots Vs Buccaneers

Camping and Hijinks - a set on Flickr

Sark Folk Festival - Audioboo

Leddra Chapman - a set on Flickr

Mordekkers | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Initial impressions on the Apple iPad based on my experience of the Macbook Air

Video from iPhone test

Across the USA.

Glenn - Eagles

Gina and the cardigans

Blink 182

Embedded Maps Test

Stu's Birthday Video

I may look like Chabal, but.....

I'm going up the country, baby, don't you wanna go.