New Apple Lust Objects for 2010 and onward

if i wish to take a hideously unflattering photo of myself i'll reach for my iphone 4s

when i hear the word selfy i reach for my iphone 4

Ed III, what did you think of the Win 8 phone?

Well, crap. I upgraded to the iPhone 5 today, and I carefully ensured that my old 4 was backed up before plugging in the new one and restoring/setting it up from the back-up. The result was not nice: all photos, all music, and most apps didn't make it to the new iPhone. Not catastrophic (I hope), but pretty disappointing.

I know this doesn't help you now, but I handle music and photos manually, although my apps restore correctly

Well, I power cycled, and nothing happened, but then, as I was staring at iTunes, wishing it would just work, iTunes blinked, said "2 iPhones," and started syncing my apps, so it looks like everything is going to be just fine.

Maybe I wished aloud and Siri heard me.

was using the HTC 8X, which doesn't have quite the breadth of apps as the nokia lumina, but the lumina available from verizon is the lower end model (ie cheaper build). from a product positioning perspective, this seems like something that might hurt the device. too many options or not enough: app store not consistent among manufacturers, features not consistent across carriers.

user interface is a lot cleaner than android, the customizable home screen is well thought out (you can make icons 1 of 4 diff sizes based on their importance to you) and the OS was pleasantly responsive and fast. mobile browser load times were some of the best I've seen. you can tell it was a rush job tho as it seems a bit unfinished at the edges, but those edges thankfully don't involve the basics (stability, responsiveness). it's mostly in minor irritations that will likely get fixed in future iterations of the OS. things like: you can't set some events to vibrate and others to cause audible alerts, it's either everything makes noise or everything vibrates. settings is a long list that's not in alphabetic order, and is also unsortable. emails older than 24 hours don't display the time of receipt. when you set up the phone you log in with a windows live ID that you can't change later without completely resetting the phone (a total hard wipe). smallest font size is ridiculously large which causes a lot of unnecessary scrolling.

their downfall unfortunately will be the app store. tho many of the top apps are there, there are quite a few glaring omissions (ok I understand no instagram but no MS RDC app?). no native or free audio turn by turn directons (to echo a point above, it's available on the lumina but not the HTC, wtf). the enterprise integration is not as seamless as one would imagine. without serious market penetration, developers won't make apps, and without apps consumers will be frustrated - it's the catch 22 for anybody trying to get into the game at this point.

that said, the pro-windows dudes in my department *love* these things, but that might be a vote against the alternative rather than an indication of any intrinsic worth ("at least it's not apple").

xp to los blue jeans

Well, I power cycled, and nothing happened, but then, as I was staring at iTunes, wishing it would just work, iTunes blinked, said "2 iPhones," and started syncing my apps, so it looks like everything is going to be just fine.

I still don't get why mac itunes insists on storing gigs of ios apps that don't work on macs

fwiw my brother is a tech journalist and a mac dude. got his review win8 phone a few months ago and is basically in love with it.

begs the question

Bad back people, I need your HELP

So I had a grievous hand and back injury last year, and I'm looking for a new lightweight laptop to replace my horrible old heavy PC -- basically I get a backache if I carry anything heavier a pineapple.

I'd only really use it for writing and reading, and maybe a tiny bit of video editing.

Anyway - has anyone got the MBP 13" - or can recommend a similar PC? The MBP's on sale now, but this isn't a desperately needed purchase, so I was wondering if it was worth waiting for the inevitable summer upgrade

Why not the Macbook air?

if its really only a "tiny bit" of video editing you should get the air

The MBP is actually smaller than the Air, weirdly, and they're fairly close in weight, plus I'm guessing it's better for video. But I could be wrong.

Why not the 11"? Far smaller and lighter.

I have the the MBP 13" and love it, but the Air is much easier to handle, especially picking it up with one hand. I know the weight difference isn't really that great, but it feels like it!

What's the retina screen thing like then? Improve eyesore and enjoyment, or basically just a frippery?

get an air

Carried around an MBP for a friend last week, and have an Air myself. Could definitely feel the weight difference.

my brother is a tech journalist and a mac dude. got his review win8 phone a few months ago and is basically in love with it.

does it work with macs? srs q

he doesn't have a pc afaik, so i guess, but i will ask him for deets.

p.s. did you see the epic orlowski history of bbc news in the register? is it worth reading?

ha no i haven't! orlowski is almost always worth reading though.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/28/the_bbc_news_online_story/

What's the retina screen thing like then? Improve eyesore and enjoyment, or basically just a frippery?

I now refuse to look at anything else.

otm

once you do without pixels, any presence of pixels is an actual obstruction

I still stand by my "characters are letterpressed directly on the screen" description. Non-retina on the iPad Mini is 100% deal break.

conversely it means I know exactly when I'm going to buy an iPad mini.

What's the retina screen thing like then? Improve eyesore and enjoyment, or basically just a frippery?

I have an iPhone 5, which has a Retina display, and a 2010 MacBook Pro, which does not. I can't see any difference but it sounds like others can.

lol

orlowski is almost always worth reading though.

really? aside from his pet crusades against global warming and wikipedia and google?

can't go back to iphone 4S after using the 5

Retina is great on both my Ipad and Pro, especially if you do a lot of reading – text looks fantasticaly crisp and is more legible and readable as a result. Also, the ability to adjust the amount of screen real-estate on the Pro is very handy is you are working with multiple windows.

In terms of total size, the 13” Air is smaller than the 13” MBP because it is thinner and about 20% lighter, but the retina display would be a deal breaker for me if money is not an object.

Orlowski is great because crazy IMO. Still haven't read that article though ha

^

re: crusades against global warming i think you're confusing him with lewis page

when i say "worth reading" i don't mean "he is right" i mean "i am entertained and provoked"

tl;dr should I share my music library info with apple;

is getting itunes to DL the missing album art "worth it"

will i go to gaiol?

I don't know what Gaiol is but yes, it's worth it

sorry - "gaol"

they don't care, and it makes you get album art and the genius feature works, so submit all that info right now

Ed III, thanks. I'm using a Lumia 920 and I basically agree, there are some quirks (can't change font size in browser) and omissions (poor PDF support (?!?!)) but it does most of what you need it to.

http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50e5c2f4eab8eae917000000-620-867-400-558/jonyive-5.jpg

what does apple's exec board makeup look like? every apple keynote in memory has been such a sausage fest. i dunno why looking at that picture of ive makes me think of gender imbalance but it does.

sausage fest

Apple tho likely doesn't deserve especial criticism beyond that we extend to the tech industry as a whole for the under-representation of women in technical roles, let alone leadership roles.

ive's wearing all denim, maybe it's a tom of finland style sausage fest up in there

I feel like Ive is going to headbutt me in that picture and I'd be more comfortable if there was someone like Marissa Meyer going, "No, jonathan, what did we say about using our inside forehead?"