I’m going to do this for real. Future posts will happen over there instead.
Amazon Kindle
I was fortunate enough to have a creative part in POP’s promotion of Amazon’s Kindle, which hit the streets (of the web) yesterday. Check out the videos on the top of the detail page. The work started early in the year and went through several revisions but in the end turned out pretty much as planned. Lots of fun to be a part of, and very rewarding to see it all come to life the other day.
An iPhone review, typed on the iPhone keyboard
I have now uses iPhone for about five days. Instead of writing my “initial impressions” I’m writing this now from a more “thought out and researched” perspective.
First off, I have stayed far away from the smartphone market until now. Yes, I was always jealous of my peers’ ability to be connected but never gave the Blackberry ui a chance, and avoided Windows Mobile like the plague.
What I really wanted was a pocket Mac. So the announcement of iPhone caught me off guard — half because it was exactly what I thought I needed and half because you should never expect Apple to deliver exactly what you expect from them. It was the perfected version of every Apple fanboy’s dream device.
On that count Apple went out of their way to show iPhone in all its marketing videos (commercials and keynotes and online demos) for what it was. In the end there was hype like it was a Star Wars prequel, but none of it really came from Apple. (From a certain point of view). That is, Apple had shown us the real iPhone and not a manipulated marketing video. No 3d simulations, no After Effects concept graphics.
So I was expecting the iPhone, unlike a Star Wars prequel, to match its hype. And now, five days after its launch, I am not shocked that it does.
Since I have no baggage from having used other smartphones extensively, I am not bothered by iphone’s so called downsides. EDGE is one of them, but to be honest it works fine for me in that it adequately fills on the gaps between my many wifi zones. Honestly, who really needs to use YouTube in the middle of the woods? Google Maps, however, seems to work exactly as advertised, and on EDGE no less. That feature alone is gonna save me quite some time no matter where I am.
The soft keyboard: brilliant. Once used to it I could not imagine anyone wanting to use anything else on a small device. It really is just as good as a physical keyboard, and the “tradeoff” of getting a full, widescreen touchscreen for everything else I do (which accounts for much more time than typing stuff) is just plain a no brainer. Do what Apple says and “trust the software” to correct miatakes. Just don’t get sloppy and you’re fine.
Without touching on other individual features, the overall experience showcases what Apple is all about — bringing the high tech stuff to real people. In every feature you use, the initial reaction of “oh that’s just slick!” soon gives way to simplicity to the point of ignoring the interface entirely. My 88 year old grandfather was able to find his house on satellite on Florida but the impressive thing is that be actually could grasp what was happening along the way. His attention span on any other similar device would be zero.
(As a sidenote, he says the text would be too fine on the display for him to read extensively.)
Just like any well designed interface, the content is the thing. You focus on your stuff — not on how to load it up.
I love it. It really is a brilliant piece of work. I can’t wait to see what Apple brings in the way of software updates down the line.
And that, friends, is the most text I’ve typed on iPhone to date.
Starbucks
“I don’t have a big problem with Starbucks at all. I try to avoid them (unless I’m looking for coffee anywhere else in America besides Seattle, in which case I’ll walk a mile to find one), but whatever.” - the Stranger
MySpace blocked in Apple Stores
Looks like I’m not the only one who gets annoyed by MySpace.
Rocket back to the Bronx
I never thought I’d actually be happy about this, but Roger’s return to the Bombers has me all excited. The problem I suppose is that, for all the money they’ve spent, I’ve had a very hard time hating the Yankees recently. It’s hard to feel passionately against the Yanks when they doesn’t really seem relevant anyways. They’re old and boring mostly. Well, Clemens will make things interesting for the Yankees again, and that brings back that good old feeling… ah yes. Down with the Yankees!
Sox are still taking this year’s Series anyway.
So, so done with MySpace
I just made a new post on my MySpace profile “blog”. If you’re in a band, apparently you’re supposed to have a MySpace page. So I do. But I don’t have to like it.
My new post was my last. I’m done with MySpace. What a dump! I’ll maybe keep the profile alive for awhile because some very good, old friends have found me there. But I’m not gonna use it. I’m not gonna post my favorite music or movies there. I’m not gonna put more pictures of myself or my wife or baby girl. Not even my cats.
MySpace was never actually appealing to begin with. But now it’s just cluttered, old, busted, ugly and seedy. And it brings out the worst in the web. These days, the web is a pretty nice place. Good designers have figured out how to keep it from being the dump it used to be. All “2.0″ and ever’thing! MySpace encourages bad web behavior. See ya.
Here at Line Rider
Paranoid Line Rider Loop
Over my Christmas vacation I took a day and created my masterpiece on Line Rider. Word is that they’re making it for Nintendo DS and Wii soon. I can’t think of a better idea!
Hurley… Found!
Originally uploaded by sixtrak.
Look who I found! I offered him rescue but he said he was getting used to island lifestyle. Oddly enough I saw Hurley twice that day. The first time was at this kickin’ little pancake house in Kailua. The specialty there was macadamia-nut pancakes. I had the Mac french toast.
The second time was later that evening on the floor of Aloha stadium. He did mention that morning that he would be at the U2 show as well. He’s just one of those guys you can pick out of a crowd I guess.
