Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: Apple Page 2 of 5

Inundated with Wearable Tech

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On October 31, 2014

In Technology

WearableFitTech2Microsoft actually got ahead of the competition (for the first time in about 15 years) and released a competing product for Fitbit‘s and Apple’s not-here-soon-enough watch. In fact they even beat Fitbit to the punch despite their recent announcement of new products (Charge, Charge HR and Surge). It just takes Apple or Microsoft to get involved and now the market is already starting to saturate with wearable fitness tech. Prior to this tech craze the only wearable fitness tech anyone really knew about were Fitbit, Nike Fuelband and Bodymedia Fit.

Now that Microsoft and Apple have entered the market we should all prepate to become inundated with hundreds of wearable tech options. The flame wars will begin soon. Google will probably have one out by the end of the next quarter and all of us will be taking cheap shots at the short comings of the others tech because, lets be honest, we all like to exploit the inadequacies of the competitor (I am definitely guilty of it).

I have had my Fitbit for nearly two years and I’m not really in the market to replace it. If, hypothetically, I were in the market for an updated fitness device, I wouldn’t be looking at Microsoft or Apple purely based on the cost. Anything above $130 is just a little above my price range for something that just needs to measure my steps and activity levels; however I am not a fitness nut. I don’t jog/run, I don’t lift weights with any regularity, so perhaps I’m not the target market for these expensive wearable tech devices – which is entirely possible, after all I didn’t do the market research for these guys. Be that as it may, my hypothesis is still that these companies are taking advantage of a popular trend right now, which does make business sense, but doesn’t always render quality products.

Regardless of which of those theories is correct, its actually an encouraging trend. Perhaps it will be the motivation people need to live healthier lives; the Fitbit has certainly helped me to lose weight and keep it off. I’m certainly a fan of people making the effort to become more fit instead of mandates and soda bans coming down from the government.

Btw, if you hadn’t heard about Microsoft’s latest gadget, its the Microsoft Band. It does actually look pretty neat but I’m not excited about that price tag.

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

Bent Over And Got Screwed

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On September 30, 2014

In Apple, Fulmination, Technology

gus_facepalmSo here is my chance to berate and belittle Apple and their latest foray into product stupidity. This is probably going to be a bit of a soapbox not only about how you screw something up like manufacturing a phone that has such weak physical integrity but also to those folks that think phones should be impervious no matter where you keep them on your body.

Let me start by saying that if you keep your phone in your back pocket as if it were a wallet then you deserve a busted phone. Your phone doesn’t belong in your back pocket and if you buy the larger phone then don’t treat it like its a small phone. I really don’t understand how the iPhone 6 Plus can fit comfortably in any pants pocket.

People! Use some FRAKKING COMMON SENSE!!!!

Ok, now I’m not just going to blame the idiots out there that think all phones should be indestructible because Apple should have known better when they engineer something to be so thin and MADE OF ALUMINIUM!! As stated in Wikipedia, aluminium “is a silvery white, soft, ductile metal”. Notice the emphasis on the word “soft” (oh, and by the way “ductile” means “pliable”!!). You must engineer for the troglodytes that will put their phones in their back pockets or store items of any dimension in their pockets; you can’t assume people are smart … you know, design to the lowest common denominator (because not everyone buying smart phones are intelligent – ex: Steve Ballmer – who suddenly reminds me of Frankenstein from Young Frankenstein – sorry Peter Boyle, may he rest in peace).

Apple alleges that all phones and tablets are put through rigorous durability tests to ensure the integrity of their products; obviously their tests weren’t rigorous enough. They also claim that of the 10 million iPhones that were sold, only 9 people have come forward complaining of a bent phone. It doesn’t matter if it was 9 people, or 3 people, or 500,000 people, the fact is that it made headlines and even earned a damn hashtag (#BendGate). I will say the same thing for Apple as I said for Microsoft, I expect a lot more from a company that has been in business for so long.

Again, I’m so glad I’m on the “S-cycle” of iPhones so my next phone will have had these silly mistakes corrected … in theory …

</end soapbox>

Why I’m Hard On Microsoft

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On September 19, 2014

In Apple, General Cogitation, Microsoft, Technology

borgYou can ask anyone and they will tell you that I rarely cut Microsoft any slack. I have been working in Microsoft technologies for over 10 years now, and I’m pretty good at .NET development. People generally assume that if you make a career working in a technology then you should give the appropriate, unrelenting respect but that’s not how I work. I won’t swoon over every product Microsoft produces because I don’t agree that everything that comes out of Redmond is made of gold. (Also, for what its worth, I don’t swoon over Apple products either. I’m not getting online at 4 in the morning or standing in line outside the Apple store to buy the new iPhone just to have the new iPhone; that’s just not economically sane or reasonable. I swoon for no one … well, maybe except for Nathan Fillion but, come on, he’s Malcolm Reynolds!

It probably doesn’t help that from 1998 to about 2002 I was full blown anti-Microsoft. I would only use Windows if I absolutely had to. My first computer was configured for dual boot which gave me the option to use Linux or Windows and I used Linux 90% of the time I was actively using my computer. Eventually I began to cut Microsoft some slack and when Windows 7 came out, it was a turning point for me. Microsoft has been in business for nearly 40 years so I expect a lot from a company that has been around since the mid-70’s. Is it wrong for me to set the bar that high? Lately I feel as though Microsoft thinks they can throw their weight around and still get their way but this isn’t the 90’s anymore. The vendor no longer controls the market; the users are now dictating what they want and what they expect (I blame social media). If you’re not willing to listen to your users and consumers then you’ll never deliver what the people really want and you’ll get left behind by those that really do respond to criticism and feedback (hence why Apple and Google have been far more successful).

I think a lot of my harsh criticism stems from frustration. I feel like Microsoft has been extremely obtuse and out of touch with the modern world. How do you release something as wonderful as Windows 7 only to turn around and release something as odious as the Metro UI and Windows 8? I get that the industry has become more mobile where gestures and touch enabled devices are paramount for new products but Microsoft’s interpretation of a mobile UI was just awful. I also think that the Windows Phone and the Surface tablet was a terrible idea because the market was already saturated with several successful devices. It’s very disappointing because they made some very poor decisions; but I guess if anyone has the money to throw around its Microsoft. They have never really been afraid to take risks, no matter how terribly they pan out.

I’ve already seen a few rumors swirling around about Windows 9, code named “Threshold” and the early indicators are that they are going to separate the standard computer desktop user from the touch enabled user. Despite all the mud slinging I have been doing lately about Windows 8, I am excited for Windows 9 and to see if Microsoft has learned their lesson. I’m still not interested in either of their mobile devices (until they become less of an eye-sore) however futile it is to resist 😉

Is Apple Pulling A Microsoft?

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On September 16, 2014

In Apple, General Cogitation, Microsoft, Mobile, Technology

Apple-MicrosoftLast week Apple unveiled the next iteration of their iPhone, which had the usual fanfare. Most of us, even those of us that are iPhone users, weren’t terribly blown away by the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus features. It was all pretty standard (bigger screen, faster processor, better camera, etc). I think the best feature of the new iPhone is the addition of NFC technology (which apparently Samsung already had in their phones). I guess that’s the first sign that Apple is looking a lot like Microsoft this year, playing catch up. If you are not familiar with NFC, it stands for “near-field communication”, which means it basically allows you to use your phone to interact with other systems simply by its proximity (or waving in front of a reader of some sort).

Apple added NFC for its new ApplePay system that only the iPhone 6/6 Plus will have. However, I think the big blunder here is that only POS systems (that’s point-of-sale, not the other acronym) which have the proper upgraded firmware will be able to utilize Apple’s NFC features. So, basically they have created a proprietary feature that if POS manufacturers don’t pay to upgrade their equipment, won’t be able to take advantage of it. My understanding is that Samsung uses a more universal NFC technology. I don’t know why Apple made ApplePay proprietary, seems pretty myopic to me. I mean, that didn’t work out so well for Microsoft!

Many people are screaming for Apple’s head over the whole U2 album. I’m not sure I really understand why people are nerd raging. I understand if the album had been something awful, like Eminem or Kanye West, but U2 is a highly respectable and classic rock band. The album was not downloaded directly to my device, it was in my iCloud. I had to explicitly tell iTunes to download the album so unless it was somehow forced onto folks devices, I’m not sure how people could have unknowingly downloaded the album. If, however, the album really was pushed out to everyone’s phones/iPads, well that is a pretty uncouth thing to do. Also, such a power play (i.e. forcing technology onto their users) is another common Microsoft move.

The MMO Times: Winter Lion

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On March 4, 2014

In Gaming, MMO Times, MMORPG

mmotimesheaderIIIssue 96: Well, it looks like March came in like a lion; a cold, frigid ice-covered lion. I know most of us are probably in agreement (if you live in the mid-west or NE United States) that its time for winter to be over! I think we have all had enough of these single digit and sub-zero temperatures, ice falling from the sky, and the merciless snow. The only thing that has been redeeming about this ridiculous weather is that it has kept us all inside, playing our games. While it looks like we are finally on the brink of Spring, there is still some gaming news to be excited about too.

Blizzard has once again provided the most news in this issue, especially if you are playing Diablo III or anxiously awaiting Heroes of the Storm. If you’re on the fence about updating your Standard Edition of MoP to the Deluxe, your time is running out. Also, some Marvel Heroes, Neverwinter, Guild Wars 2 and even Asheron’s Call news. Stay warm and game on, friends!

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Biggs On: iOS7 Impressions

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On October 7, 2013

In Apple, Biggs On, Mobile, Technology

apple_logo-263x300The new iOS 7 has been live for a few weeks now and over 200 million devices have made the switch. I updated both of my devices (an iPad 2 and an iPhone 4S – before I upgraded to the 5S). I heard mixed reactions while iOS 7 was in beta, but for the most part people liked it. I didn’t get a chance to try it out when it was in beta so I experienced it with the rest of the world the day after it went live.

Overall, I really like it. In my opinion, it seems cleaner, more modern and edgy. It’s easy on the eyes (unlike some other OSs whose “lively tiles”, according to some experts, may induce diarrhea). I’ll admit, it did seem a little sluggish on my 4S and I had to go in and make a few changes under the hood (as it were) so I could get a little more out of my battery. Honestly, that’s pretty typical of Apple. The latest iOS always seems to zap your battery and you have to go in and turn several background features off if you want your device to last longer than a day. In fact the first day I had my iPhone 5S the battery was nearly gone by the end of the day, which shouldn’t happen with a new phone. After turning off several features (such as Background App Refresh and Automatic App Updates) the phone battery performed much better.

On the other hand, the battery on my iPad 2, since updating to iOS 7, doesn’t seem to have been affected at all. With that said, I like iOS 7 more on the iPad then I do on the iPhone. Perhaps its because the screen is bigger and therefore easier to notice the subtle design changes in some of the icons and overall picture quality. Or maybe I’m just strange (which we all know has always been true, regardless).

I freaking love the Control Center. It’s so nice that I can just swipe up and toggle DND, WiFi, Airplane Mode, and several other Settings and Utility apps (such as calculator, camera, stop watch, flashlight). I’m a lot less likely to get caught looking at my phone in church when I forget to turn on DND because it can be toggled so much faster now. I know, I know. Android did it first, and I’m glad Android users have had that luxury longer, but its nice to finally have it on an Apple device.

If you haven’t updated your devices yet, I am going to encourage you to do it. Make sure you read about some of the tips folks have posted for improving your battery life, especially on older devices (and by older I mean pre-iPhone 5). If you have already updated, what do you think? What things do you like about it? If you don’t like it, I encourage you to share that as well.

/cheers

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