I know that it’s like the cool thing to do to rip on Apple for all that they do, but I really do have to tip my proverbial hat to them today for releasing iOS4. If you’re unaware of the free update and you own an iPhone, iPad or even iPod Touch, you should really go an download it now… Seriously, like now

LIKE RIGHT NOW!!!! AAAGGGHHHHH

Phew… Sorry about that.

iOS4 for the iPhone 3GS is actually quite an improvement and to be completely honest, I don’t really care how they came to these decisions or who came up with the ideas first. The fact of the matter is, you can now organize your apps, start buying books, zoom with the camera and change your background. Yes, I know a lot of these features already exist with iPhones that have been broken out of jail, but I’m not one of the people that found a sketchy dude in an Asian mall to crack or break my phone. I like my shit to be legit.

Okay, so iOS4 includes a few things that I’m pretty happy about. First up is the folders. I tell people I’m an organized guy, but that’s a lie. I’m a mess and before “folders,” my phone reflected just how messy I am. Now, with easy touch-and-drag functionality, I can hide my mess. It’s like sweeping things under the carpet or finding random closet space for that useless junk you can’t live without.

Next up is the camera.Not only can I zoom with the still camera, I can now tap-to-focus with the video camera. I don’t have the steadiest pair of hands so I think this will come in handy.

Multi-tasking is something that I’ll try, but I don’t spend that much time on my phone to begin with. If I attempt to multi-task I think it would be a sign that disaster is looming. In any case, the concept makes sense. Don’t turn off the program when you close it, just… you know, put it in the background.

The new mail feature is nice, but again, I haven’t had a ton of time to play around with it. I took a quick glance this morning and noticed that it’s a lot more Mac-y, meaning they take advantage of visuals like logos.

I don’t think I’ll buy any books through the new iBooks, but I think this feature is mainly for iPad users anyways.

Finally, the best part in my opinion about iOS4 is that you can change your background image and lock-screen image. What’s even better is that they can be two different images. I saw this once on a friend’s phone who decided to go down the dark rode of jailbreaking and that was the one cool feature I really liked.

That is all for now – Hello iOS4 welcome to the Internet-y land of criticism.

Yup, that’s right – it was me.

Fridays usually include a lunch event of some sort for the crew I work with. Sometimes we go out for sushi, other times it’s Thai food, but last week was an off-week as we’re all eagerly awaiting to be paid again. On a side note, “Damn you monthly expenses!!!!”

So instead of going out for lunch, we all stayed in and brown-bagged it. The result was boredom. We weren’t at all interested in what we were eating or really any of the subject matters we usually touch on when we’re away from the office. Instead someone broke out their iPhone and with it, the end of productivity. These little micro-transaction games that are floating around are ridiculously addictive. First we all shared how fun these farming games were, then I piped in with the one game that single-handedly ended the rest of the day’s work.

I’m speaking of course of High School Super Star. The gang asked what I play and I showed them this little app that puts you back in high school. The intention is to create a persona and gain popularity. Popularity can be gained by fighting and smack talking, buying cool shit for your locker and getting after school jobs. Sounds lame, I know, but for some reason everyone was absolutely hooked. This is not an advertisement for High School Super Star – in fact, this is a warning for anyone at work right now. Do not share this game – it will suck the resources away from your project faster than the new 3GS.

I think I’ve finally found a free iPhone app I can actually be excited about. PING isn’t a game or a calculator, or a news feed, PING is the iPhone version of Blackberry Messenger. The BBM was the only lingering regret I had when I moved to an iPhone, but with PING I can freely messege any other iPhone and iTouch user for no charge. The interface works exactly the same as SMS, but it uses data instead. This means PING negates any text charges to and from fellow iPhone users. Now the goal is to get everyone I would ever message off of their Blackberries and onto iPhones….

Check out this article on Gizmodo (this is also where I took the image above)

So I finally cracked a few weeks ago and bought the iPhone 3Gs. I posted a while back about trying to decide if I should get one or not and I eventually did. I’m pretty glad I went with the new phone mostly because I’m still in that honeymoon period where everything new is just amazing. I really enjoy downloading free apps, trying them out and getting rid of them. I love how the phone is also an iPod. And most of all, I now have a phone, browser, still camera and video camera all with one device. For instance, a couple of weeks ago I checked out the Vancouver Jazz Festival down in Gastown. Normally I would have just taken a phone – but with iPhone I was basically walking around with a full media center. So here’s some interesting snippets of some of the media I took that day:

The Happiest Boy In The World.  – Click to play some video I took.

The video and sound quality is quite good, but I haven’t thrown it into an editing program yet. I have a feeling I’ll be able to do some interesting stuff with this new iPhone….

So about a month ago my little BlackBerry Pearl finally died. I got a constant blank screen and after multiple battery switches the screen would scroll and never stop. I took that as a sign that it was finally time to get a new phone. My struggles with the Pearl are documented, but this was the last straw. Since then I’ve been using an old cell that was graciously donated to me by The Taj and texting has become a ridiculous chore rather than an efficient communication experience. I had been using a full keyboard for a few years prior so to go back to a numeric keypad felt like falling back into colonial times.

iPhone 3GS

Well, the time has come to fix the situation and I’m in the midst of deciding whether or not to finally grab an iPhone. I’m one of the last people I know who has yet to get one because, well – I really didn’t find a need for it. I’m not exactly an important person so emailing, surfing the net and buying Apps is never really on the top of my priority list while I’m not in front of a computer. But this decision that I’m going to make is partly based on timing. The iPhone 3GS is coming out in about a week and if I was going to get one, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t get the best one. I went into a Roger’s store the other day to scope out the tech and learned a few things:

Right now, if you’re wanting to buy a 16 gig iPhone, it’ll cost you less that than an 8 gig. The stores are clearing out the 3G 16 gigs to make room for the 3GS. I’ve been with Roger’s for over 10 years and because of this they will give…. zero discount based on my tenure. Instead I will be eligible to get a total of $100 off of the regular price if I change my plan – a deal they are offering everyone. I think this is kind of crap especially after hearing that a friend of mine got his iPhone for free through Fido because he cashed in all of his “Fido Dollars.” Nobody has ever heard of Roger’s Dollars so I think I’m out of luck on that one.

So, the obvious question – why not just go with Fido? Honestly, I really just can’t be bothered. If Fido could offer me a completely free 3GS then I would consider it, but because I wouldn’t be able to get any more of a discount, there really isn’t a point. So, as we get closer to the release date of the 3GS, I’ll make a more definitive decision, but until then I’ll just have to keep pondering…

So I’ve had my Crackberry for a little over 3 years now and I have to admit, until yesterday, no complaints. I come from a time where cell phones were made like bricks and before I got the Pearl I had a Samsung flip-phone for like 5 years, so I really shouldn’t complain because the cell phone gods have treated me very well. Anyways, I just thought I’d let everyone know that the mad scientist in me came out to play yesterday and produced something very interesting.

Blackberry Pear + Water from my hands after washing the dishes = Blue Screen Of Death!!!!

I had to remove the battery and basically clean and dry out every element of the phone, but it actually seems to be working now. Not sure how much longer the ol’ girl can hang on, but I thought it was pretty cool to have a hand-held disaster.

So the result is that I should probably get a new phone and my option is an iPhone right? Blah, still not sure if I really need one… The last thing I want to become is that guy who carries around and iPhone just because its an iPhone (you know who I’m talking about)….

Sent from my iphone and crackberry

I’m sure most people out there who are reading this are aware of this little communication tool call Email (pronounced Ee-May-Yal) so some of you might be able to share my gripe with this. I work out of my home office (okay, it’s really my laptop while I’m still in bed) and I get a lot of emails from clients on the go.

“Scott – I need you to write this”

“Dude, I’m in a bind – Gimme some words”

“How do you spell die-area again?”

The work I LOVE, but the email tags I can’t stand. Countless times throughout the day I’m receeiving emails from clients who always end their messages with:

“Sent from my iPhone” or “Sent from my Bl@ckberry”

I can’t stand this! So from now on, if I ever receive another email with a tag even remotely similar to the above, I’m replying with, “Sure, I’ll write that for you – Sent from my pajamas.” I’m not upset with the fact that people are emailing on the go, I’m mostly concerned with the fact that Apple and Bl@ckberry have infiltrated my Inbox. Please, if you own an iPhone or Bl@ckberry, remove that ridiculous tag and replace it with something clever or nothing at all.

Thanks

(Sent from my pajamas)