This site is no longer being updated. Check out my new site The Geeks Companion.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
New Site
Hello all,
I have a new website now, and will no longer really ever be updating this one. It’s called The Geek’s Companion. You can go to it by following the link above, and subscribe to it here. If you are currently subscribed to this feed, you DO NOT need to change anything. However, if you are only following this site on Tumblr, then I suggest that you subscribe to the RSS feed as you will no longer see any of the new stuff otherwise.
All the new info is over at the new site, thus the bluntness here.
Thanks, and I hope you enjoy TGC.
The Geek's Companion
My new site. I really hope you enjoy it.
15% Off iTunes Cards
It’s like free money.
iOS 5: Apps No Longer Used
Apple made a lot of things far easier to access on your iPhone since iOS 5. In fact, I found myself using quite a few apps far less, if not never, due to these new capabilities. Allow me:
Weather
With the Notification Center, why actually ever go into the Weather app? You get all the info you could possibly need just by swiping down.
If the need ever does arise to use the actual Weather app, just swipe into Notification Center and tap on the weather info. It will launch the app for you. No need to take up space on your homescreen with the Weather app any longer.
Stocks
Ditto.
Dictionary
I used to have a handy little dictionary app that I could hop into if I ever needed to know the definition of a word. Since iOS 5 though, there is no longer any need for a convoluted app, much less having it take up space on your homescreen.
Instead, as iOS 5 already has a dictionary function built in, I can just swipe into Spotlight, launch the Notes app, type the word I wanted to look up, then tap the word to get the definition. Now I understand that sounds a little bit more convoluted then just simply using a dictionary app, but trust me, it’s not. Notes - and iOS as a whole - launch and work much faster than any dictionary app. Plus, the interface is far nicer to use, and when you think about it, it’s really only like one more tap.
That’s all I’ve really come up with so far in terms of this kind of a thing. But it certainly is interesting to see that iOS 5 really has changed the way I do certain things.
Clean Up Your Purchased List
Been waiting for this since the beginning.
Desk setup idea number 2. Take a look at the first one over here and then tell me which one you like better, and why, in the comments below.
My thoughts:
Not sure which one I like better. The fact of the matter is that it’s a little harder to get a great look with a curved desk than a simple straight one. The first setup idea uses the fact that it is curved and places the computer on said curve. This second one sets it up as if it is just a regular straight desk for the main computer and iPad, and then has the laptop off to the side.
I suppose I’ll keep this post updated with whatever decision I make.
UPDATE: After much deliberation, I decided to go with option one. It is, after all, a corner desk, so I may as well use it. The iMac will be going back to the curve. I think it just looks better overall that way.
Here is what my desk currently looks like. I’m loving it indeed. Wonder why I had yet to come up with exactly this setup:
Official Alfred Extension Page
Spend some time going through all these. I did, and it is sure to save me tons more in the future.
Gosh I love Alfred.
iOS Multitasking
And why killing apps is pointless.
A Dent In The Universe
Scoopertino:
“It’s not unprecedented for a single human being to cause this type of dent, it’s just extremely rare,” says NASA scientist Hadley Coleman, citing Ford and Edison as previous dent-makers.
Woz's Website
Huh. Didn’t know this existed. Apparently it was just redesigned. Shame on me.
Tweaked my desk setup. Will go into more detail some time in the future.
I’m really loving it. What do you think?
iMessages and Me
I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE of beta testing iOS 5 for a few months now. Today, I’d like to talk about iMessages in particular.
Those that have my phone number know that I’m not exactly the best at returning text messages. Phone calls are a different story - hardly ever use them. But when it comes to texts, I only reply if I deem it truly necessary. I’m rarely ever one to reply “Ok”, and I suppose that I often times simply just don’t reply if I’m not in the mood.
Long story short, I’m not a huge texting kind of a guy. Sure, I do it rather often, but I in no way reply to even close to every text I receive. I’d rather talk via Twitter (although most of my friends are not on Twitter), email, or in person. Typing on a full keyboard, or using, you know, my actual mouth, is far easier.
iMessages was quite a curveball for me.
So here’s the deal with iMessages and me.
ON THE ONE HAND, I actually enjoy iMessages far more than texting. It feels a lot more like an IM chat on an actual computer, what with read receipts, typing bubbles, and all. Plus I like the blue color far more than the green. And boy is it one heck of a lot faster. Couldn’t tell you why, but those messages send damn near instantly. iMessaging just feels much faster than plain old texting (or SMS, as you might say).
On the other hand, I am now far less likely, even, to reply to regular texts. Once I got the taste of how messaging should be on a phone, I can hardly go back. Sorry, but I can’t help it. Oh, I’ll still text from time to time, but as most of my family have iPhones (I actually just convinced my father, for one - a long time Blackberry user - to get one), and many of my friends do as well, I am quite sure most of the messaging that I will partake in on my iPhone will be in iMessages.
NOW SIRI, that’s a whole other story. Boy would that make things even better for me. But alas, I am not even close to eligible for an upgrade from my iPhone 4 to the 4S. I’ll see if I can try to pull some shenanigans, but I am not too hopeful.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? I’m actually trying a little experiment for the next short while and am turning the comments on. We shall see how it goes. So go ahead and leave your, constructive, thoughts below.
My email to rememberingsteve@apple.com:
I am currently speechless. I am still in shock. I just can't come to really believe it. Still. I can't believe he's gone.
He was a visionary, yes. The CEO of the greatest company in the world today, yes. He was superhuman, yes. The Steve Jobs we all knew and loved is now gone though.
But he was also very much human. He had a wife. Kids. A family. The Steve Jobs they knew and loved is gone now too.
It is so incredibly unfair his time here on earth was so short. "Few people accomplish in their entire lifetime what Steve Jobs accomplished in half of one" - Alex Leiphart.
And he'll continue to live on in Apple, forever, having left behind one of the greatest legacies of all times.
But the world will never quite be the same.
