iPhone users are finding lots of little tricks and shortcuts. It’s strange that Apple doesn’t publish a complete user’s manual…
Taking screenshots is easy. Just hold down the home button and press the sleep button. The screenshot is stored in your camera role. Very useful!
As much as I’m enjoying my new iPhone 3G, I’ve been more than a little frustrated with it’s failings, like poor battery performance, software bugs, slow UI response, and the disappointing lack of speed from the 3G network.
While I’m not planning to go back to a Treo any time soon, in my opinion the iPhone has failed to live up its promise (or its hype). I just hope they keep the software updates coming.
Apple’s latest commercials taut the iPhone’s blazing speed. If you own one it’s hard not to get a little sick your stomach after watching it. Some guys made a real world versus ad comparison and posted it to YouTube…I’m sure you can imaging the results…
The recent launch of Cuil.com and Microsoft’s acquisition of Powerset.com has piqued some new interest semantic search engines. To deliver on their promise, these new search tools must provide a new experience for search, integrating a number of new paradigms and experiences.
In preparation for a new project, I put together a quick presentation that compares design approaches for a number of prominent semantic search engines, including Powerset.com, Sindice.com, Cuil.com, Twine.com, and hakia.com. Specific attention was paid to general presentation, input methods, display or results, and categorical results approach.
Worth a look if you’re interested in semantic search.
Wow. Blogging from the iPhone is ridiculously easy…no excuse not to write more!
The word is out that the new 3G iPhone will undoubtedly be release sometime around June. I considered buying the first-gen iPhone when it hit the streets but was just not ready to abandon my trusty Treo. At the time, I thought the iPhone was all style, with little substance for a hard-core business user. ..kind of like going jogging wearing a pair of expensive Italian shoes—while you may fancy, a pair of old running shoes will get you where you need to go much faster and with a lot more comfort. Old jogging shoes are actually a great analogy for the Treo!
My tune has changed now that I’ve seen the iPhone in action and starting reading the rumors. In addition to 3G support, unconfirmed sources have noted a number of new features that could likely be added to the new iPhone.
What I’m most excited about:
Finally, estimated pricing puts the new iPhone at $399 for the 8GB version, $499 for 16GBs, and $599 for the 32GB model. Where can I pre-order?
According to Digitimes, this year marks the sounding gun for global flexible active matrix displays, meaning that this year we may see bendable, thin high-definition LCD screens. New technologies and materials are the base of the technology, and recent advances may result in real products in not-too-distant future.
The Audi R8 ad was one of the best of a bunch of ho-hum Superbowl ads. What a sweet looking car!
NewScientistTech magazine is reporting that a group of UCLA researchers have developed a WiFi music polling system that could one day replace live DJs.
The device scrubs the music files from wireless music devices and uses smart technology to create ordered playlists that match the preferences of party-goers. Partygoers are triangulated by their wireless system and when they leave the room (or party) their music is removed from the list.
I think we’ve all come to automatically dismiss claims made on infomercials. No those pancake puffs probably don’t taste as good as look, or will the Navy Seal pushup gadget get you ripped. However, I can attest that one infomercialized product—the Bose Noise Cancelling headphones indeed lives up to their claims.
I bought a pair of the QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones to help me through a number of cross-country trips I have planned. I’ve never been able to get comfortable on an airplane, and can never seem to relax. The constant engine and passenger noise gets to me after awhile and tends to accentuate my fidgetiness. I couple of frequent travelers I know swear by the noise cancelling headphones, so I decided to give it a try.
The Bose headphones are not cheap. The latest generate go for well over $300.00. While there are cheaper knock-offs available, I was warned that Bose sells the only “real deal” when it comes to noise cancelling technology. The headphones come with a nifty case and a handful of jacks and cords. The QuietComfort 3 comes with a rechargeable battery (previous models required battery replacement) which, according to the sales guy, lasts up to eight hours. My headphones made it through a six-hour flight without problem.
So in practice…they really work. They cancelled out the majority of underlying airplane engine noise. While they don’t filter out all sounds, even the loud noises are subdued and muffled. Sound quality from my iPod was great, although I did think it could be better; noise cancellation is the real value of this product – not the audio quality. I’ve also used them on the MBTA and noticed that even filter out a good portion of the subway noise. Too bad Bose doesn’t make a smell canceller.
Another more subtle element of these headphones is that they send out a strong signal that you do not want to be disturbed. This is nice if you’re not a fan of airline chit-chat. While they didn’t completely filter out the grad student behind me from describing his thesis in painful detail, I can safely say that the headphones muted him enough so that it didn’t bug me.
I highly recommend picking up a pair if you’re a frequent traveler who, like me, has difficulty relaxing on long flights. The price is on the high side but if you think about in terms of increased airline productivity, it could be a good investment. Believe the infomercial hype. Now about the Kinoki Detox foot pads…
CNN’s election coverage is boasting some cool new technologies—specifically the new “Magic Wall”, an interactive Touch-screen provided on Jeff Han’s Perceptive Pixel multi-touch technology. According to this article from Broadcast Engineering, Perceptive Pixel developers created customized software for use during the election coverage.
CNN reporters have been using the Magic Wall to toggle between screen views and zoom-in on data sets. During the Iowa coverage, they also had a slick “delegate-sorting” interface. Last night, one reporter used the multi-touch resizing to show some campaign picture. Overall…very cool stuff and, like any design geek, I can’t wait to get my hands on one those (although I hear they go for a cool $100,000.00).
As they cool as the screens are, watching a reporter interact with them feels broken – there’s an unevenness watching them work with the device that doesn’t translate well to TV coverage. The screens also create some challenging body positioning issues. Reporters have to face away from the camera to interact with screens, creating some choppy communications. This is similar to some of the problems people have when presenting projected PowerPoint presentations.
All in all, it’s great to see nifty new technologies like multi-touch interfaces being put to practical use, but there are some clear kinks that need to be worked out…