Archive for the ‘apple’ Category

Wherein I attempt to get what little readership I have to fall into a deep sleep.

Nicks-iMac:~ nick$ history 1000 | awk '{a[$2]++}END{for(i in a){print a[i] " " i}}' | sort -rn | head
112 cd
53 svn
50 mate
40 sudo
35 ls
25 pwd
22 ./mysqladmin
17 port
14 ./mysql
13 curl 

Ah, now isn’t that better? Sleeeep. Sleeeeeeeep. I’m sure there’s at least one hard core Unix person out there saying “what the fuck does ‘mate’ do, and where’s all the entries for ‘vi’?” I will further separate the sleepy from the hardcore by announcing this is a Mac.

I change directories a lot, huh?

After acquiring a DSLR (this one) I decided to move from trusty old iPhoto to Aperture. I have about 6,000 photos in my library, many going way back. They’re all in Time Machine, so the move is less fraught with anxiety than it could be. But still, this sort of stuff is never painless. Also, I’m becoming less and less apt to tinker with software as I get older, so if something goes off the rails I’m more likely to call it off and retreat into the pocket of least resistance—or in this case, iPhoto and its overzealous virtual file system.

See, iPhoto stores separate copies of every action you perform on a photo. Rotate a shot? New version. Color correction? Ditto. What this means is that a drive will not only become littered with your original photos but their alternate versions as well. This would merely be a slight aggravation if it could be changed by ticking a check box somewhere. As you might have guessed, Apple chose not to provide such a preference. With that in mind, as well as the multitude of tools and options Aperture has over iPhoto, I made the jump this weekend. On the face of it, the process should have been easy; Aperture can natively import iPhoto libraries, after all. meaning there’s nothing too mysterious about getting the photos from one place to another. I was able to do that without any trouble. The snag came after the import, when I realized my new Aperture library was littered with all those alternate copies of many of my photos. Without a very good grasp on just what a “stack” is in Aperture, I was left without a way to quickly weed out the extra versions.

After a few hours of struggle, fiddling around with Smart Albums and importing and exporting things in various groups, I was rid of the duplicates. And the truth is I’m still not quite sure what I did. Whatever it was, between exporting a lot of junk and selectively re-importing it, I saved myself a gig or so of space. And I have to say Aperture is really nice. Somehow Aperture’s re-touchings seem more subtle than Photoshop’s; maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve been using Photoshop for so long that I can spot its use from a hundred yards away. I’m especially fond of Aperture’s gamma vignette tool, which is practically undetectable as a post processing trick.

All in all, I’d give my migration a 6 on the pain scale, with 1 being the Migration Assistant on recent Macs (yay!) and 10 being moving from XP to Vista (not yay!). Any Aperture tips or gripes out there?

On January 11th, Starbucks–the ubiquitous coffee giant–announced a restructuring plan. The initiative includes recalling former executive Harry Roberts back to the company as senior VP and replacing Chief Executive Jim Donald with Chairman Howard Schultz in an effort to save flagging sales. Starbucks will also close some of its 15,000 stores and slow further plans for expansion. The obvious question to the casual observer is ‘why?’ It seems as though Starbucks is everywhere: in movies, on TV and even in small town malls and grocery stores. How could a company this omnipresent be hurting for a foothold? The clearest reason is that it is everywhere, and that consumers are finally Starbucked out. There was a time when the chain had only a handful of stores compared to the staggering number it has now, and that glut has made the company’s offering of a fancy cup of coffee seem less like something special and more like ho hum.

Another reason for the downturn is the feeling among many consumers that four dollars spent on a latte may be better spent on a gallon of gas, or that enough of those lattes could add up to a chunk of a mortgage payment in these tough economic times. Still others say Starbucks has lost the “coffeehouse” charm it once had, and feels more like McDonalds (who, along with Dunkin Donuts has launched its own line of fancy coffee drinks). The simplest answer to Starbucks’ woes is that they have glutted the market: their product is no longer different and their ability to respond to customer needs has been compromised.

Apple, on the other hand, just posted its best quarter ever. Buried in the good news is the fact that Apple is showing just 5% growth in iPod sales year-over-year, despite a 17% revenue jump. In other words, lots of people are buying a second or third iPod, but not as many people are buying their first. The iPod Touch–while unique–is pricey, and hasn’t compelled many first time users to jump on board. The “gateway” iPods like the Shuffle are in need of a serious refresh in order to speed up sales.

But more than anything, Apple needs to find a way to avoid the glut that Starbucks is facing. If we use the growth of Starbucks as a yardstick, plotted on an eight year trend with 2007 being the final year, it would be fair to say that Apple is in the middle of a huge growth spurt. Part of what it needs to do now is find some sustainability for itself. The iPhone, MacBook and MacBook Pro are all excellent products whose lifecycles will see Apple well into the next decade; the iPod Touch and MacBook Air, however, are not the stuff that futures are built on. They are the “drinkable chocolate” and “blended creme frappé” in Apple’s lineup, the sorts of things meant to glow in the window and attract passersby who may never return, no matter how cool they are. Updates to the iPod line will help, including a revamping of the higher capacity iPod Classic. But prices of solid state drives may make them impractical for use in the product.

Over the last two years Apple has been essentially unchallenged in its (re)rise to prominence. A small slow down in one segment is not the end of the world, and it may just be the chance Apple needs to set the world on its ear again. Sales of iPhones and iMacs are brisk, and more and more people discover life on the Mac side every day. Whatever the second quarter may bring, everyone is excited to see what’s next from the house of Steve.

There’s quite a disturbance in the force lately if you ask the tech blogging community, and it involves the latest release of Apple’s iLife suite of multimedia apps. This release offers complete overhauls of several important apps; and one, the new version of iMovie, is being met with some bad reviews. They stem from the fact that iMovie ‘08 has in many ways parted with the design specification set forth by the very first version: offer many of the same editing tools found in Final Cut Pro–timelines, transitions and multiple audio sources–but with a far lower learning curve and a rock bottom price (iLife ‘08 retails for $79.95).

But instead of focusing on the budding feature film director iMovie ‘08 is primarily concerned with helping you throw a movie together in “half an hour.” This means no timeline or multiple audio sources—in other words most of the things that made it so popular in the first place are gone. Apple does bill this as a complete recode of the old app, but it’s odd to shift the focus of an app so dramatically and maintain the name and versioning of all the previous incarnations. But really, I don’t care.

I’ve never made a movie in iMovie that I thought was all that great. Something happens to you after you see a Stanley Kubrick movie that makes it really difficult not to sweat the small stuff when you make a movie. When I shot those vlog posts a few weeks back I finally had to give up and give the camera to my wife to shoot me with, since I spent forty five minutes fidgeting around for good camera angles and lighting. Even when all the footage was in the can I had a terrible time editing myself, and a worse time color correcting each clip and making it ready to mix down. At one point I had actually dug up my old copy of Final Cut Pro and started editing there.

Yes, I was editing MiniDV footage from the three year old hand held camera with a $1300 editing system. Perhaps you see the level of perfectionism I’m dealing with here.

I guess my problem is that I’ve never been certain what the real goal of this much power on a consumer computer really is supposed to be. I understand the dream of the software: Apple’s demo movies always look so slick, like music videos would if anyone showed them anymore—all slash cut edits and triumphant choruses from Fallout Boy songs and daring 180’s off of powdery moguls. But every iMovie I’ve ever seen looks mostly the same, in the way that all those “iCompositions” that cropped up after GarageBand came out sounded mostly the same. Don’t get me wrong, I like that these things exist. I just never feel as if I’m using them as they were intended. I also have a good face for radio, much better suited to audio than video.

So the fact that iMovie ‘08 is so drastically different should come as no shock. The goal was always to create a finished and shareable movie in the shortest possible time frame, and not necessarily to offer conventional non-linear editing tools for the achievement of that goal. In fact, if I know Apple, shattering that sacred paradigm was always in the cards. However, waiting so long to ship the “real” iMovie comes with some pain. No more pain than wanting Stanley Kubrick production values on a cable access budget, but pain nonetheless.

My iPhone sustained its first battle scar this morning, as it took a sickening dive to the pavement. My headphone cord caught the buckle on my computer bag, launching the iPhone out of its holster. It made a gut wrenching hollow noise as it hit the ground, but once I was sure the screen was alright (and it is 100% alright) I was regaled with the sound of music through the earbuds. So, this thing can take a spill. I will not be allowing it to do it again, however.

Instead of a complete rundown of the last few days with the iPhone, I thought I might post a few small observations. In short this thing really lives up to (most of) its hype, and is a really compelling and enjoyable device to use.

• Speaker volume. It’s just not loud enough. Neither is the ringer really, and it may shed a little light on just how Apple thinks of the iPhone: as an iPod first and all the other things in descending order from there. I say this because using the phone while you have the earbuds on is a perfect experience in terms of sound levels. When the iPhone is in the car seat next to you and the AC is blasting and NPR is on, though, keep an eye out for calls.
• The interface is even better than you think. Using your fingers to navigate through screens of data feels perfectly natural. I’ve not had one single person, regardless of age or experience level, be stumped about how things work. I do need to explain the home button a little, but after that they’re off to the races. I’m still marvelling over the little details, like the recent calls screen; there’s so much in just that one small screen that’s communicated so effectively, and all without clutter or having to tap into other screens.
• I am going to drop this thing. It’s just a matter of time. The bead blasted finish is just not enough to hold onto.
• Prepare to be mobbed. Everyone is writing about this right now, but be prepared to give spontaneous iPhone demos at Starbuck’s and the grocery store and the bar, or anywhere else you try and take a phone call.
• The camera is really pretty good. Don’t go ditching your Canon DSLR just yet, but it’s more than enough for the occasional snap in terms of color and sharpness. No dedicated shutter button on the device (only a “soft button”) is a pain, though.
• I have no idea what the “right” way is to carry this thing. My old phone, a Samsung A900, would have cost around $129 had it not been a gift from my lovely wife. You can see for yourself how much an iPhone will set you back. My point of course is that carrying the iPhone around with is sort of a scary affair, and there are some places I would just not be interested in taking it–like the beach or something. Maybe folks with Treos or Blackberrys feel similar?

All in all, good stuff. Where’s the 1.1 update? I want more stuff to tinker with.

After some handwringing and discussion, the iPhone came home with us on Saturday afternoon. I’ve had one full day to live with it–enough time to form that blissful first opinion, and here it is.

First of all, the buying experience associated with buying an iPhone is exhilarating. The overwhelming media blitz for this thing makes buying one feel more like buying a Lexus than a wireless phone. As I stood in line with three other people buying them, we were gazed upon by other Apple Store patrons. It was frankly a little unnerving. Also, each phone is packaged deliberately differently than the iPods, and is even given to you to take home in a specially designed cardboard “bag” with black ribbon drawstrings. Carrying it through the mall I realized just how different it would be using the iPhone: anyone under the age of 30 was peering down at it surreptitiously as I passed.

I: Activation

Despite the horror stories circulating after the release on the 29th, my iPhone activation took about 5 minutes including the “paperwork” and sync. The iTunes-based setup worked without a hitch, and I noticed that mine had even shipped with a full battery. I dropped a few albums on it and got ready to poke around a bit.

II: First details

The device itself is stunning. The iPhone is more diminutive than even its PR suggests, and it’s thinner than my 30 GB iPod 5G. It feels good in the hand, it at times a little awkward to hold. The screen is razor sharp and exceptionally bright, and displayed photos with startling sharpness. In the first ten minutes out of the box I was speeding through the UI with ease, zooming photos with the “pinch” for the amusement of my wife.

III: Wifi trials

Let’s start by admitting that EDGE is pathetic. Its download speeds approach dialup for most tasks, and are bearable really only for email. I’d hate to be forced to use the Google Maps app with anything other than pure wifi, which was my first struggle. I had a fair amount of difficulty getting the iPhone to see my Belkin 54G wireless router, and after three resets apiece I decided to walk down the street to see if iPhone could see my local coffee shop’s wifi. Inexplicably my router appeared as I rounded the stairs on our second floor, 30 feet from the router I’d previously been practically on top of. I’m still not certain what finally made the iPhone see my router, but it’s been seeing wireless networks all weekend now and joining them without complaint. Oh well. Being outside gave me a chance to sample call quality and the iPod feature.

IV: iPod and calls

As I bopped down to the coffee shop, I flipped through some albums in the iPod. Every aspect of the UI is gorgeous, even the plain vanilla (read: non-Cover Flow) list views. Menus float and glide as if real world objects, and there’s no detectable lag between finger gestures and the virtual controls. I settled on some Bjork to listen to, and seconds into the first track my wife called. The iPod seamlessly trimmed the volume down to zero, paused my music and asked me whether I wanted to take the call; being ever the UX developer I couldn’t resist a quick chuckle at the perfection that incoming call had triggered. In quick succession this tiny little gadget had made about five right decisions about my user experience. I accepted the call and was very pleased with the audio quality, especially over the included headset. I poked around the internet a bit over wifi, and was very pleased with Safari’s speed and responsiveness. Every mobile browser I’ve ever used has some quirks, but other than the lack of Flash support Safari doesn’t really have any. After a while you stop throwing websites at it expecting it to break or truncate your sites, a la Opera Mobile or the PSP browser. Soon, you’re just surfing and taking it for granted. Mission accomplished, Apple. Time for some email.

V: Email

When you sync iPhone for the first time, it attempts to copy your email accounts from Apple Mail. You’ll find that when you click (tap?) mail for the first time that it’s ready to go as long as there are working accounts on your Mac. Over wifi speed was excellent. There are a lot of complaints about the Mail app on iPhone, from the ordering of messages (new on top, and no you can’t change it) to the way it supports Gmail. None of those things bothered me as much as not being able to use the mail app in landscape mode like Safari. I’m hoping this works in future versions. Replying to mail is a breeze, and once you get used to the admittedly awkward keyboard you find you can tap out an email response with four or five complete (correctly spelled) sentences in about two minutes.

At the end of day one, I had sent an email browsed the web and even shot a picture or two. The camera is better than average, but still just a wireless phone camera lacking a few things–see number 1 here. I had yet to delve into some of the meatier apps like Google maps or the calendar. All that would happen on day two…

TO BE CONTINUED…

The stars and planets aligned today, and I found myself in the Apple store with my lovely new wife buying a lovely new iPhone. I’m exhausted from gazing upon the sheer glory of both today, but I promise a full report tomorrow replete with pictures. In a word: believe.

So, if you’ve had the misfortune of spending more than fifteen minutes around me lately my speech has probably sounded like the title of this post. For that, I would like to formally apologize. I had a three hour dream about the iPhone last night, a fact that actually makes me a little worried. It did make me some fried squid, in an apparent homage to the “calamari finder” television commercial.

But seriously, the iPhone fund is open for donations. I think we could make this a really funny internet meme. Like, there’ll be a picture of me looking sort of aloof and it will say, “I can has iphone?” or “My iphone: let me show you it. My iphone.” Then udnerneath a link to paypal where you can send me your dollar. It’ll be great. My poor wife–whom I have driven thoroughly insane with this quest, and who deserves the largest apology–thanks you in advance.

And probably doesn’t think this is funny at all.

This afternoon, Steve will be in ur reality distortin’ ur fieldz. If you think any Mac nerd is going to get any work done you’re sadly mistaken. Watch the madness unfold here. I’ll be updating periodically as well, for those who care.

UPDATE (1:56 PM EST) - Man, this Gizmodo thing blows. I’ve seen it work as it’s supposed to twice in an hour. Leopard is 64-bit clean, though. Sweet.