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How Else Do You Think We’ll Get to Star Trek?

Aviv — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:06:46 +0000

Forget everything you’ve heard about the iPad. Put aside all the caveats and seemingly major flaws that people are floating around, and think about what Apple’s really doing here. If you don’t quite get it, don’t worry, it’ll eventually click.

A tablet computer, a beefed up iPhone, a touch screen slate, the iPad, whatever you call it, this device’s magnitude won’t be entirely realized for a few years to come. The ambition behind this single device is huge. What Apple’s trying to do here is momentous, it’s unmatched and whether you like it or not, it’s going to change the way you compute.

When you watch movies like Star Trek or recent phenomenons like Avatar, you see conceptually magnificent user interfaces. You see rich and robust screens and characters interacting with them in ways we could only dream of. With the swipe of a finger, the flick of a wrist, or some motion in your arms, you have the power of a fully embraced suite of technologies. This is conceptual immersive computing that we have never experienced as a species, let alone something we can begin to understand, comprehend or imagine being worked into our daily lives.

It’s no secret that Steve Jobs loves Star Trek. When asked about the future of computer input on stage at the All Things Digital conference in 2007, Jobs responded with, “Ya know, just give me Star Trek.” He was talking about the way the characters interacted so fluidly with the technology around them. The way that technology interfaces and responds elegantly with the people controlling it. Computers are depicted as natural elements, organic structures baked into the core of any room or ship. Quite the opposite from the desk, mouse, keyboard and monitor combinations we currently use.

If you don’t think Apple is trying to make Star Trek or Avatar style computing a reality, then you haven’t fully grasped what the iPad brings with it.

Let’s get one thing straight. As it currently stands, only one company has the potential to invent, deliver and actually execute these high-level, infinitely complex scenarios. No other company on earth has multi-touch technology like Apple’s, let alone the ability to combine that software with highly optimized hardware and now custom silicon. This is the trifecta of the future.

The iPad is Apple’s first attempt at bringing this technology outside of a handheld device and into general computing. We’re talking about extremely powerful gestures, motions and finger swipes to accomplish tasks that had previously only been done through the combination of a keyboard and a mouse.

Just like the old saying goes, “You can’t build Rome in a day.” For Apple, the iPad is the first brick in this Star Trek-like Colosseum of technology. Imagine the iPhone as the gravel, and now you’re beginning to grasp how monumental this device is. We still have a very long way to go, but this is the foundation. It can’t be rushed, it can’t be hurried and you can bet Apple is going to make billions of dollars while increasing the company’s bottom line along the way.

A completely immersive computing experience. As conceptually realized by James Cameron in the film Avatar.

It’s impossible to go from where we are today, to a fully immersive world of touch-screen technology. The general public would be lost, and the most technically savvy computer users would feel alienated by such a rapid change in computing. It would never happen, it can’t happen, and if it did, it would be by one of Apple’s competitors as a rush to beat the competition. However, Apple knows that this is extremely valuable. It’s the holy grail of computing as far as we can see it today. This absolutely cannot turn into Windows Mobile. For all the proprietary downfalls that the company brings with it, the way they get behind open standards (banning flash from nearly everything they do), should come as a relief to the general public. For the people that actual develop applications and pieces of software for our computing platforms, open standards are a way of life. We live and die by them. If Apple wasn’t the largest player in the paradigm shift to touch computing, I’d feel a bit nervous, anxious and kind of unsettled to not know what’s coming. With Apple, we know we’re in good hands. They value healthy competition, and it’ll be done right.

To the nay-sayers, give it some time. Just pretend this is the first iPhone and keep whining about copy-and-paste.

MacBlogz Is With CoCo!

Aviv — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:40:13 +0000

MacBlogz stands behind Conan O’Brien. Show your support for the movement and artist Mike Mitchell by purchasing an original I’m With CoCo t-shirt or print. Read more about the I’m With CoCo movement here and here.

Ditching the iPhone? I’ll Bet WinMo Has What You Want

Aviv — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:15:42 +0000

As of late, we have three prominent names publicly ditching the iPhone. Om Malik, from GigaOm, Michael Arrington from TechCrunch, and one person who’s inspired me for ages, macintosh developer Steven Frank from Panic, inc. here in Portland, Oregon. While I have no qualms with their decisions to ditch the iPhone, I’m having a tough time understanding what the hell they’re talking about.

The iPhone is a big deal… Period. It radically changed the entire mobile industry. Since its launch in 2007, Apple has clobbered sales records and the iPhone revenue bomb continues to explode. This single piece of technology and the services around it, including the thriving developer community, close the gap even further between human nature and technology. The vision that good technology should be indistinguishable from magic has clearly shown through with the iPhone. In fact, it’s so intuitive, so easy to use, and so powerful, that when people consider leaving the device due to whatever reason(s), they second guess themselves so much, that they ultimately settle on announcing a personal ban against Apple and AT&T. And you know as they hit that “Publish” button, they regretted it.

Why not just jailbreak the device? Does the need for one app make you ignore the years of work that have gone into this thing? Without the iPhone, you wouldn’t even have a second, comparable device to switch over to! So perhaps you’re bored with it? Perhaps the arrangement of icons on the homescreen is driving you nuts? The dropped calls, poor reception, constant ludicrous prices… Perhaps you hate AT&T with a passion! I do too! And still, NONE of these reasons are good enough to even consider ditching the iPhone.

Some of you may swear this off as just another Apple freak gushing about his toy… So if that’s the way you take this, just stop reading. But for those that can actually sit down and relate with what Apple has done time and time again, and what they’ve publicly said (time and time again), you’ll see that these public denouncements of the iPhone, and these “I’ll pay $175 to leave AT&T” are just people with personal gripes, a large audience, and a little too much time on their hands.

When Apple released the iPhone they were all singing a different tune. They were willingly hopping on the Apple train, ditching Verizon, t-mobile and everything in between to snatch up iPhones. Even though everyone knew how incredibly shitty ~~Cingular’s~~ AT&T’s service was before the iPhone was even released. Through a little bit of common sense, anyone would know that the network would only degrade as millions of content heavy devices were sold to everyone you know. And now with the App Store, Apple has said time and time again that it’s their store and they’ll do what they want with it.

The problem with these public outcries, is that maybe the tiniest sliver of people who Apple actually gives a shit about reads these articles. You think the millions of people around the world buying iPhones know who Michael Arrington is? Or Om Malik? I don’t think so. Apple doesn’t care who does and doesn’t use an iPhone. All they care about is the masses seeing Alec Baldwin hold it up in 30Rock. You think Google Voice is such a big deal that you would leave the iPhone for it? I personally know people who use Google Voice, and it’s not a walk in the park. In a nutshell, if you love Linux and searching for the proper drivers for hours, then you’ll love Google Voice! And the explanation Michael Arrington has outlined for porting your phone number, is akin to calling up an outsourced ISP and setting up managed hosting… A fucking nightmare.

There have been no good reasons as of yet to ditch the iPhone… Perhaps if you were on a call with the president, talking about Iran’s nuclear initiatives and the call dropped, that would make sense. But none of these people’s calls are so important that they can’t communicate via SMS. They’re all on twitter, they’re used to it! One app? A few dropped calls? Poor reception? To leave the single greatest technological advancement in our time since the macintosh? What it is… Is sad.

Whether you love or hate Apple or AT&T, the iPhone is absolutely hands down the best mobile device in the world. Yes, it sucks that we have to deal with bullshit surrounding our service, reception and now the app store, but as long as ANY mobile carriers are involved, it will never change.

For fucks sake, if you have such monumental issues with the thing…. jailbreak it… It’s not that hard.

iPhone 3GS: Some Pit-falls Revolving Search, Photos and Videos

Aviv — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:43:28 +0000

I’ve had roughly 7 hands on hours with the iPhone 3GS. While the device performs entirely like a newer, faster, more powerful iPhone, a few pit-falls regarding searching and tagging leave me a tad confused.

Undoubtedly, the video recording feature is absolutely phenomenal. I’ve already been recording everything around me for the fun of it, and within a few hours, I managed to capture roughly 20 different videos. Alongside this, with the new auto-focus photography feature I found myself taking more pictures. Situations where images would’ve shown up blurry or dark in the past, now have been given a nice enhancement, which inevitably increases my confidence in the iPhone’s camera, which means more photos.

But after a few hours, my photo and video library is full, and finding a specific video or photo couldn’t be more of a time suck. I have to basically choose between a list of different thumbnails. Why do I still need to do things this way when Apple’s baked in Spotlight Search into the OS? Why can’t I flick my homescreen to the right and search for my videos based on a title or a few tags I’ve given them? At that rate, why can’t I title and tag my videos or photos? With 16 and 32GB flavors of the new iPhone, we’re talking mountains more memory than competing devices. Yes, we know it’s an iPod too, but we can actually search for music in that iPod much in the same way we should be able to search for photos and videos.

Search is an absolutely phenomenal thing to focus an OS around. If done right, everything, at anytime, from anywhere inside the OS, can be found by typing in the desired result. But it doesn’t work if things aren’t indexed, like the iPhone’s photos and videos.

As an iPhone owner, I’d like to be able to give my photos and videos a title, description and some tags. Obviously, this could be worked into the entire user experience in a very elegant way, and would be entirely optional for the end user. However, as the memory in my device increases, so will the amount of media on it, and so will the need for me to alter, edit, include and omit things from my search results.

In a nutshell, Apple, if you’re going to give us Search, don’t half-ass it, let us tag and label our media so that we can find it. And in the meantime, if Apple doesn’t respond, or care, maybe an iPhone developer wants to whip up a solution for organizing your photos and videos, then making them available in search. I’d buy the a copy for me and all my friends.

Israel Finally (Officially) Gets the iPhone

Aviv — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:03:57 +0000

From an article on popular Israeli website nana10, it has been announced that Israel will finally (officially) get the iPhone through national carrier support.

As of now, the announcements only state that Pelephone will be carrying the device and that they’ve been told to “get ready” for the launch. What’s perplexing is why Orange isn’t anywhere near these negotiations. They have a major presence in Israel and surrounding nations. Plus they already have deals with Apple to carry the iPhone, and it has been reported that they have upwards of 1 million iPhone users on their network.

Either way, this is good news for Israel, and for Apple. The tech scene over there is so involved in telecommunications and innovating for mobile environments, it’s a natural fit for the country to get official iPhone support. With the upcoming release of iPhone OS 3.0, Apple announced that Hebrew would officially be supported as a language, so that definitely gave a tiny clue as to what was coming.

Of course, unlocked iPhones are literally a dime a dozen over there. Certain pockets of software developers stay in business by selling unlocked iPhones with Hebrew pre-installed, so it makes sense for Apple to get rid of this foul play and allow even more people to innovate on the already burgeoning platform.

iPhone OS Running On A Multi-touch Monitor. Probably Fake, But Still Amazing! (Video)

Aviv — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:18:46 +0000

Apparently some folks over at DreamField.se either decided to get real creative with some After Effecting, or they’re literally doing Apple’s work for them.

This might totally be fake, and done with running a matte mask through After Effects, but it’s still incredibly impressive. I can think of a ton of useful real-world applications for something like this. via Crunchgear.

13″ Macbook Pro: Finally, A Replacement for the 12″ Powerbook

Aviv — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:15:41 +0000

Not even twenty minutes into Phil Schiller’s keynote speech at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple gave the crowd something relatively unexpected. Every single aluminum-unibody notebook is now considered a Macbook Pro, with the “Macbook” moniker only sticking around for the white plastic model.

Since Apple first unveiled the new unibody designed notebooks, they were received very well by the industry and consumers. The design was refined, and the entire transformation into such an evolutionary defining product was successful. However, when Apple showed off some of the configurations available for the 13″ unibody Macbook model, people weren’t pleased. They had removed Firewire all together, only leaving USB built into the notebook, and it seemed that the higher level Macbook Pro’s were what Apple really wanted you to buy. Even though the Macbook is what consistently delivers Apple’s blockbuster Mac numbers quarter after quarter.

With today’s announcements, any remaining confusion over Apple’s intentions with their notebook family are diminished. By adding the 13″ Macbook to the Macbook Pro family, you can say hello to the 13″ Macbook Pro. Finally, a notebook that can outright replace the 12″ Powerbook G4 so many of us developed a debilitating addiction to a few years ago.

The new 13″ Macbook Pro comes with a built in SD slot (card reader), alongside the welcome addition of Firewire 800! When Apple initially removed Firewire from the 13″ Macbook, consumers were furious, and many people, including myself, who wanted a new unibody Macbook, held off on purchasing one. Apple is correct in their assertion that digital cameras are standardizing across SD cards, and including a SD slot is a great perk if you’re doing any photo work at all. I’m pulling the trigger on one of these bad boys as soon as possible.

iPhone Concept: I Really Wish This Was Real

Aviv — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:30:38 +0000

Between some exciting Steve Jobs reports, iPhone 3.0 and Snow Leopard, things are heating up the weekend leading in to WWDC. Be sure to tune in to Gizmodo’s live coverage here: http://live.gizmodo.com/ on Monday, June 8th at 10am Pacific.

No, it’s not real (sadly). But I really wish it was.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs On Track to Return Within A Few Weeks

Aviv — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:52:34 +0000

Recent reports from the Wall Street Journal (via MacRumors) confidently explain that Apple CEO Steve Jobs is on track to return to the company at the end of June.

After taking a six month medical leave, reports are starting to surface claiming that Steve Jobs is on track to make a full return to Apple within a few weeks, and that his lengthy recovery has been going well.

While Mr. Jobs has been on sick leave, some Apple directors have gotten weekly updates about his medical condition from the CEO’s physician, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mr. Jobs’s recovery “is coming along” and he is on schedule to return to work later this month, said this person, who has seen Mr. Jobs in recent weeks.

“He was one real sick guy,” added this person. “Fundamentally he was starving to death over a nine-month period. He couldn’t digest protein. [But] he took corrective action.”

Much of the buzz appears to be conjecture of the type that has swirled around Apple and Mr. Jobs for years. But two people who do business with Apple said senior Apple managers have told them the company is now trying to coordinate Mr. Jobs’s return with a product launch or public event.

What’s interesting is that the report explains that top Apple management is getting direct reports from Jobs’ physicians. Even though Apple seems to be shrouded in secrecy regarding products, internal information regarding the well-being of the company’s CEO is a different story. The fact that executives are receiving updates from Jobs’ doctors (at all) is a sign that most of the reports have been positive. If the updates were negative and Jobs were not making such a healthy recovery, I highly doubt the same management team would have access to said information.

Throughout the past six months, the media has exploited stories about Jobs and his health, often times combining the CEO’s name with the word “cancer” in headlines, simply looking for shameful attention. Aside from contributing to an already extremely volatile stock (AAPL), Apple was thrust into the spotlight with what seemed like a terrible situation. However, at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting in February, the company stood firm on Jobs’ return. Being only a couple of months into the six month leave of absence, Apple was only getting started showing the industry that they could deliver great products without Jobs being so heavily involved. After dipping to 52 week lows reminiscent of times before the iPhone, the stock is currently trading in the 140’s.

If and when Jobs makes an epic messiah-like return to the company this month, you can expect the industry to pay close attention to any and all of Apple’s announcements. The next few weeks will surely be some of the most exciting in recent months for Apple enthusiasts. We wish Jobs the best as always and continue to hope the best for him during this lengthy recovery.

[image via flickr]

Palm Pre Overhyped, and Why Roger McNamee Shouldn’t Speak In Public

Aviv — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:52:36 +0000

Currently burning through huge cash infusions from Venture Capital firm Elevation Partners, Palm has moved all their chips, their rolex and mortgage to the center of the table with the Pre.

In a matter of days Palm will be releasing the most overhyped device since the original iPhone. They’re calling it the Pre, which takes its name from the way it supposedly thinks and acts a few steps ahead of its owner. In essence, attempting to help consumers find solutions and information before they know what they need. I’ve got some strong opinions about the Pre, and for the sake of competition in the marketplace, I hope it’s not just hype. But sadly, the closer we get to launch, the more I’m realizing it’s just another plasticky iPhone competitor without a thriving developer community, no App Store and no proprietary competition to iTunes.

The video below is of ex-Apple executive, now Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein and Venture Capitalist (Elevation Partners) Roger McNamee hyping up the Pre even more at this week’s All Things Digital conference. You’d think with all the massive media outlets hyping up the Pre so much, Rubinstein and McNamee would try toning it down a bit. But they are definitely not trying to calm things down. Instead, they’re layering the hype with thick coats of redundant points about the mobile space, that Apple CEO Steve Jobs made us aware of two years ago.

Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein and Elevation Partners Co-founder Roger McNamee

With every piece of high technology, game-changing hardware or innovative software that’s announced to the masses, several coats of hype are applied before an official release date is even set. For most companies and products, this is what causes their inevitable demise. The inability to live up to the expectations set out by their own people, which in turn leaves consumers disappointed and downright angry.

We can all agree that in the last few years, the iPhone stands out as the only piece of mobile hardware to induce a puddle of drool from everyone who’s ever used one. Those who clamor against the iPhone, for whatever reasons, have already had their mobile fantasies fulfilled (Blackberry owners, email power-users), but for the vast majority of consumers, the iPhone came along and truly delivered the best and most intuitive user experience on the market. In fact, the software (iPhone OS) leaves the hardware lagging behind most of the time. With iPhone 3.0 Apple is hoping to change that, and all the rumors happen to be pointing in the right direction.

At the risk of sounding too negative, my honest opinion is that the Palm Pre will massively disappoint. The lack of dedicated Palm developed desktop software leaves the company open and vulnerable to being shut out by those they depend on to make the device sync with your media. Very early reports play as a constant reminder that a built-in QWERTY keyboard is not so enticing. Additionally, how does Palm expect potential iPhone switchers (which they are counting on) to adjust to the lack of dedicated killer apps that they have grown accustomed to using on a daily basis (twitter clients and Google iPhone offerings mainly). Not to mention the elephant in the room… Gaming.

Palm is facing a steep uphill battle. One that may very well turn out littered with lawsuits and legal troubles stemming not only from Apple, but other patent holders in the mobile industry. Yes, Palm has some very old patents in the books, and in court, some may hold up. But unless Apple’s legal team takes a drastic turn, Palm may not even be able to afford the legal fees associated with taking on a company that has $30 billion (debt free) in the bank.

Some Facts:

• For the 13 weeks ending 2009-02-28, Palm’s net profit was -95 million
• Palm is burning close to $1 million a day
• “Palm shares closed Thursday up 93 cents, or 8.8%, to $11.46 and are unchanged in recent late trading” (WSJ)
• The Pre syncs with iTunes, which leaves it completely vulnerable to being shut-out by Apple
• Apple is closely watching Palm and will aggressively defend its intellectual property through legal outlets
• Palm’s stock is currently surging on rumors that the device is headed to Verizon
• ” Instead of creating an entirely new trunk Palm is branching off of the established phone environments.” (John Biggs over at CrunchGear)