Entries in Apple (85)
my more complete thoughts on iphone vs android phones. for now i choose android #phoneWARS
In catching up on thousands of emails, I found one from a friend looking for my advice on her phone choices: iphone vs. android. at&t vs t-mobile. Here's most of what I wrote.
As for T-Mobile. They're fine. Best network in the U.S. is probably Verizon, but their network is US-only, and so are most of their phones. AT&T for iPhone is notoriously horrible to the point that many high profile iphone fans have dropped the device because they can't use it to make phone calls reliably. Sprint is... well, Sprint. I've found T-Mobile's network to be ok. Nothing spectacular, but ok overall and great in most cities. The customer service has been good especially compared with my previous experience with Sprint.I'm still in the midst of my iPhone/Android dance but lean strongly toward staying with Android at least until the iPhone leaves AT&T. I used an unlocked/jailbroken iphone 2G from Feb 2008 - November 2008. From November until yesterday, I used a G1. From November 2008 - June 2009, I used an iPod touch for my media and gaming (ipod touch broke in mid july, and i haven't yet fixed/replaced). I just switched to the MyTouch 3G, and am very happy so far. here are iPhone advantages- way better apps (especially twitter and facebook)
- way more apps
- one device to sync media via iTunes
- can play purchased content from iTunes like TV & movies
- very pretty
- everyone has one (making the apps even more useful cause there's a community)
- better design and smoother user interface in general
- 2.5mm headphone jackhere are Android advantages (in G1/MyTouch 3G)
- no authoritarian control over the app store with nonsensical reasons to block certain apps
- google voice works great
- t-mobile and not at&t (tmobile refused to spy on americans for the unlawful nsa wiretapping program. at&t did it with glee)
- superior over the air syncing of gmail, google contacts, and google calendar (probably the only android apps that beat iphone apps)
- easily replaceable batteryFor me it comes down to a handful of key issues 1) politics. i find it hard to give money to at&t after they sold out our civil liberties when I know t-mobile faced the same choice and chose to defend the constitution. i find it hard to support apple when it arbitrarily blocks applications that it deems too competitive with itself or at&t. i really think apple has no idea what its doing with its app store 2) my media syncing is important to me, especially having my podcasts. the G1/MyTouch doesn't have a 2.5mm headphone jack and force me to use a dongle. however, there's some software called Sailing Media Sync which lets me do a decent job of syncing media from iTunes to MyTouch (except for purchased video content and some ipod-specific formatted podcasts) 3) my communications apps are way more important to me in a phone than media. i have and can always use an ipod touch for apple media. as such android's superior handling of gmail, contacts, gcal and google voice outweigh iphone's superior handling of media and even its superior handline of facebook/twitter. I'm hoping for a truly robust twitter app for android a la TwitterFon, Tweetie or Tweetdeck (the current android top apps, Twidroid and TwitterRide just don't cut it). I also want Facebook to stop messing around and make a native Android FB app (on Android I have to deal with outsider apps called Bloo and Babbler). A native FourSquare app would be great as well. 4) competition. i love the iphone, but i love a competitive market that will lead to improved iphones and other smartphones more. right now, i choose to support the competition. my decision is subject to change at any moment. hope this helps=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
www.baratunde.com
www.twitter.com/baratunde
www.linkedin.com/in/baratunde conscious comic & vigilante pundit
Co-Founder, Jack & Jill Politics
Web Editor, The Onion
Host, Popular Science's Future Of (Aug 10, 9p, Science Channel) http://bit.ly/thefutureof
This Blog Post About Crap iPhone Apps Could Be Written About Life
The Wall Street Journal's Digits blog takes a look at "crap apps" -- those pieces of junk on the App Store that do one thing and do it pointlessly, whether that thing be farting or belching or making the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard (yes, really) or what have you. And they come up with a very intriguing, albeit obvious, reason that the App Store seems so filled with completely terrible and silly apps. Why? Because they sell.
Movies, TV shows, cars, food, people. There's crap in the world because we actually like crap. Done. No fancy Wall Street Journal analysis needed.
The Baratunde Got Jacked Recovery & Reinvestment Act IS FULLY FUNDED THANK YOU
UPDATE: IN ONE WEEK WE DID IT, AND I LOVE YOU ALL. I AM SO GRATEFUL RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU TIPJOY, PAYPAL AND SUPER DUPER GENEROUS RIDICULOUS INTERNET FRIENDS. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I'LL POST A VIDEO LATER. --- Hey fam, On april 17th, while performing at a Manhattan club, someone stole my bag with laptop, keys, wallet, canon digital camera, canteen and deodorant! Yeah, they stole the deodorant too. That's a cold bastard right there. I really don't have the funds to replace it but need these tools to do my job. I'm suggesting a $5 donation to help me get it back. That's 700 people I need donations from. With 4,500 twitter followers and 3,500 facebook friends, I'm hoping I can get through. I love what I do and it's near impossible without my tools. Here's a somber, heart-wrenching, emotional, personal, video appeal: Hopefully $5 to you is less of a big deal than $3.500 to me. How I plan to spend the money.
- replace my macbook pro, case and applecare
- replace my digital camera
- purchase Undercover, a tracking application all mac laptop users should install that helps recover stolen laptops
Apple, Help, Twitter in Baratunde-News, General Hot Dang, I'm Featured On @Mashable!
New York City is rife with digital savvy and entrepreneurial vision, so much so that not only has social media permeated through Silicon Alley, but it’s stretching its reach to the arts, entertainment, and fashion.
A city with such density begs for community events that bring together people with a passion for the web as a social platform. With more than we can possibly list, the variety of New York’s events is nothing to scoff at as they continue to attract hundreds, if not thousands, on a monthly basis.
We’ve tried our hardest to present the best of the city’s offerings, but we know that this is only a sampling of the deserving individuals and organizations who are advancing a more social way of thinking in the Big Apple.
Mashable is one of the hottest sites covering "social media," and the folks there have been focusing on social media activity in a few key hub cities. In this one, they highlight NYC and mention me! Woohoo. That really is quite an honor, mostly because of the wide range of awesomeness encompassed by the other people, events and organizations they profiled.
Some of my favorites are included, like: lynne d johnson, Carrot Creative, drop.io, Gary V, Natali del Conte, 92Y, Caroline McCarthy, Internet Week and Boxee!!! Make sure to click through and check out the entire post. Click on the juicy ads... twice!
Monitor eBay & Craigslist. Help Me Recover My Stolen Laptop
Less than 24 hours ago, my bag with laptop, keys, wallet etc was stolen. I'm beginning to accept the idea, and am in post-disaster recovery mode. One article suggested keeping an eye on ebay and craigslist for people trying to sell your stuff.
In that spirit, here's what was stolen.
- MacBook Pro
- 15.4 inch screen
- 4 GB RAM
- 320GB hard drive
- 2.8 GHZ process
- Serial number W88470CQ4RA
I don't know the MAC address but think I can get that number from the router at my office.
What I need:
1) Help setting up an RSS feed or other tracking system to alert me when items matching these conditions (save the serial number) are posted on Craigslist or eBay within the NYC area.
2) If you buy a used laptop matching these specs in the coming weeks or months, check the serial number. If it's mine, then you got a stolen laptop.
I've reported this to the police and to Apple. I'm looking into the insurance policy on the credit card used to purchase it. I'm assuming I won't get the machine back, but I'd like to try. I named it ObamaBook, since I bought it after the election.
Here's a picture
If you have suggestions, ideas, RSS feeds etc, please drop them in the comments or contact me directly. baratunde---at --gmail_ _dot+com
I'm Hosting #OfficeHours Sunday March 29, 4-730pm At Cambridge 1 In Harvard Square
Dear Bostonia,
I'm in town for a conference and don't have the time to visit every single important person who lives here. What I do have time for, however, is eating and drinking. For those unfamiliar with my history of Office Hours, it's something I started doing as an undergrad to counter the lame office hours of professors. I'd have people over to my dorm room. We'd watch a movie, talk smack and theory, eat drink and be merry.
Now, I host them when I visit cities I like, most successfully in DC, San Fran and Boston. Not everyone comes at the same time, and many people I know don't know each other. It's fun. Trust me. We've talked about why Apple sucks, the need for green jobs programs, infatuation with Gossip Girl, and the pretentiousness of hosting an event called "office hours" by someone without a PhD.
If you are in the Boston area and wanna kick it with me or some of my people's, we're doing it live Sunday March 29th. 4pm - 7:30pm at Cambridge 1, 27 Church St, in Harvard Square.
For those who rock the Book of Faces, here's an event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=57024092643
I'm on a bus back to NYC at 8:30pm.
Oh, and if you're trying to get twitter updates about it, I'll be using the hashtag #officehours to post/read updates. Results will show up here:
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23officehours
peace
Baratunde Quoted In NY Times On People Cutting Cable TV
Mr. Jackson and many others said that doing without a pay television service had economic benefits, too. Not spending $39.99 a month for a basic cable package from Time Warner or Cablevision means he has more money to spend on the weekend.
“It’s expensive to live in New York City and very expensive when the economy is imploding,” said Baratunde Thurston, 31, a Web editor at The Onion who watches video podcasts, YouTube and streaming video over the Web from Netflix.
“In very uncertain times, you want to lower your expenses, and cable was something I wasn’t using,” he said. “So I had a strong financial incentive to cut it.”
I could talk about this subject for hours, but there's one notion that didn't make it into the final post which I think deserves some attention.
Since Ken interviewed me, Boxee had to remove the Hulu service from it's software. Boxee has acted as my primary cable TV replacement, allowing me to sit on my couch and use an apple remote to watch video, much like... television!
It seems like many cable companies pressured Hulu into blocking boxee, hoping to force us back to their monopolistic teet. What is missing from most analyses of cable-cutters like me, however, is the idea that we'll just watch or do something else.
A business model built on exclusive access can only last so long. Either people will find other ways to access your content (iTunes, bittorrent), they'll watch something else (shows that are available, clips on YouTube) or they'll do something else (read books and blogs, play video games, hang out on Facebook and Twitter).
While cost was a big driver of my decision to leave cable and the ability to access some of my favorite shows via Hulu helped ease the transition, the bigger factor was that I'm doing a lot more with my time besides watching TV programs, and I don't really miss it. I feel as informed and culturally connected as in the past but with the added benefit of significantly lower cost and significantly more control.
Apple, The Onion, Twitter in Baratunde-News, General The Sound Of My Dying Macbook Pro
I just tend to wear out technology tools very quickly. I certainly push them harder than most users. I also get unlucky when it comes to lemons. The first Macbook I got was the 13" black one. It suffered from "random shutdown syndrome" which is a bug so absurd, that its official name is "random shutdown syndrome!" This is what my current Macbook Pro sounds like after I boot it. I'm not sure what the cause is, but the solution is to get rid of this damn thing. I got notice today that my new Macbook Pro has shipped. I maxed on all the specs because I just need the power. Farewell to my noisy friend whom I backup daily.
Apple, Lemon, Mac, Macbook Pro, Technology, drop.io in General MacBook air crashed at boylston at apple store
All I did was rotate an image in iPhoto. At least it's not just my own
mac that sucks
