Tech Inertia

Mainstream tech has stagnated - let's think different, let's get tech moving again.

  • That Apple 'something'...

    • 16 Oct 2011
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    • iPad Appstore PDF RIM iPhone
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    Apple_ipad_2

    It's very interesting being surrounded by people who don't 'do the Mac', or 'the iPhone'.

    I'm not talking about your dyed-in-the-wool PC evagelist, but the neutral people, who didn't even realise that having an opinion on whether your computer was a PC or a Mac (or a RIM or an iPhone) was even an option.

    I've recently observed with interest a guy who decided one day that an iPad just might be of use to him in his work.

    He travels overseas a lot and needs to view PDF's and other documents at trade shows and finds even a netbook to be just too bulky.

    He asked his IT Manager for an iPad, and basically got, "ugh, what is this Apple iPad of which you speak?".

    Not deterred, he bought one himself, from his own money, and manages and troubleshoots it himself.

    It's the comments he gives when you ask him about it that surprises you.

    When you ask anyone about some new toy or gadget they have, their reaction is functional and technological - "it's got lots of memory, it's really fast" and err, that's about it.

    His reaction to his iPad isn't like that, it's an emotional response.

    "It's just amazing, it's fantastic, it's incredible, it's wonderful" is his response (I expect a 'magical' will come along eventually).

    He doesn't know about the chip it uses, how much memory it has - it really doesn't matter to him.

    He's found the app store and he's gone 'app crazy'. I'll tell him about updating to iOS5 maybe next week and we just might get a 'magical' out of him.

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  • Safari Extensions — Be careful with your Safari Extensions, and turn off auto-updating

    • 12 Aug 2010
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    • App Store Safari Safari Extensions
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    Media_httpiimgurcomn2_baicc
    via safariextensions.tumblr.com

    Very good point via the Safari Extensions blog - we all need to turn off auto-updating to prevent some nefarious extension creator from updating the extension without you knowing and start scraping your surfing habits.

    Surprised Apple didn't take this into account and because you can install extensions from anywhere, (there's no AppStore approval process), care needs to be taken.

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  • Android wallpaper app that steals your data was downloaded by millions...

    • 29 Jul 2010
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    • Android Appstore Google iPhone
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    Media_httpcdnventureb_tpvre
    via mobile.venturebeat.com

    An Android app that was uploaded to the Android Market that decorates your phone with wallpapers, is found to be collecting personal data and sending it to a website in China, according to Lookout.

    It's been downloaded anywhere from 1.1 million to 4.6 million times.

    Kevin MaHaffey, chief technology officer at Lookout said:

    “Even good apps can be modified to turn bad after a lot of people download it,” MaHaffey said. “Users absolutely have to pay attention to what they download. And developers have to be responsible about the data that they collect and how they use it.”

    So basically it's your fault, not Google's fault for setting up a totally insecure, unchecked market place for you to download apps for their phones.

    Maybe people will now be less prone to question Apple's closed, lock-down approach for downloading apps into their phone - but I doubt it.

    As a footnote, seeing as it's now legal to jailbreak your iPhone, I expect it won't be long before iPhone users too will be able to install excellent apps such as this.

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  • BBC shelves their iPhone apps...

    • 29 Mar 2010
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    BBC Trust shelves BBC iPhone apps following complaints from newspapers...
    http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/24568/

    I can understand the point the newspapers are making here, and it's something that is lost on our American friends. 

    The BBC have a very unfair advantage here in the UK, as the sole nationalised provider of news and content, in that they aren't open to market forces in the same way that privately run news organisations are and, in being part of the licence fee they are not at the mercy of advertisers. 

    A recent restructuring of their radio service has meant 2 stations have closed, because they overlap with commercial stations. 

    It's very important that the BBC is kept in check - they are not there to fill consumer need that is already well serviced by the commercial media.       
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  • About

    At the company I work for, there's a person that does the photography, there's a person that does the photoshop work, there's a person who designs the artwork in InDesign and there's a person that handles the marketing, manages the advertising budget and oversees the PR, and all of those people ARE ME.

    I also run 3 websites, and try to post to this one...

    Yes, I'm tired...and a bit grumpy at times...

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