Hopes for iOS5 and iCloud Checklist for WWDC

[UPDATE: See how the checklist held up here]

Apple's four year old mobile operating system is getting pretty long in the tooth and it's fairly complicated set-up requirements are resulting in few iPhone users taking advantage of some of its most useful features. This is my checklist of features or "Pillars" that iOS5 and its accompanying iCloud service need to be able to provide in order for this operating system to stay relevant.

Essential Changes/Additions to the Combined iOS5 / iCloud Platform

1. Single-Sign-On Auto-Configuration: Sounds complicated but its what makes Smartphones 'Smart'. Basically when a user signs into a iDevice with their Apple ID, their device is auto-configured for Mail / Contacts / Calendar / Find My iPhone GameCenter / Ping and iCloud backup services (With the option to un-check any of these services). When a user gets a new iPhone and turns it on (i.e. at an Apple Store) or is setting up a previsously formateed iPhone, instead of getting a symbol to connect to your computer you are simply asked for your Apple ID or to set one up if you don't have one. Hopefully if your Apple ID is a MobileMe account it will auto-configure MobileMe services or the replacement iCloud service (and possibly unlikely but hopefully if your ID is a gmail account it will auto-configure Google Sync). If the user does not use either of these as an Apple ID, alternative options for Exchange accounts should be provided. This Apple ID will then be associated with all your settings and iOS app save-states which I discuss further in the upcoming points.
2. Cloud-Synced Data: Hopefully iCloud will bring better support for syncing your data on your iPhone OTA. For example photos and Text messages are currently lost if you lose your phone and you haven't synced your iDevice back to your computer recently. This is unacceptable as this is really valuable data to the common user and few are educated about how to keep it safe. I would hope it would intelligently choose the best time to do these syncs, such as when it's charging and connected to WiFi as well as helping you get the right balance between caching and permanent storage.
3. Cloud-Synced App Save States: Just like how iBooks can sync the page you are up to between your iPhone and your iPad and just as how Steam Cloud allows you to pick up where you left off in a game you are playing on any computer that you are logged into. This ability needs to be available to all apps and all third party developers. Pause a video on my Apple TV, pick up where i left off on my iPad when I get into bed. Pause a position in a podcast or an audiobook on my mobile device and pick it up from where I left off on my computer without having to sync via usb.
4. Access My iTunes Purchased Content Anywhere: Any Apple device associated with my Apple ID should be able re-download or stream any content from iTunes I have purchased. Its not just apps I should be able to download, but music and movies as well. A purchase history list should also be added to the iStores on the iDevices much like the Mac App Store has. Being able to sync whole playlists would be even better. Build the playlist with a mouse and keyboard on your computer and have available to your iDevice whenever you want.
5. A Web-Based iTunes Store: Since I assume iCloud will replace much of the functionality of the iTunes desktop software, I think iTunes and the iTunes Store needs to move to the cloud as well. With all this cloud syncing going on, I would like to be able to log into the iTunes store on any web-browser and be able to peruse Books/ Movies/Music/Apps etc and have them made available immediately to my iDevices when I purchase something. It would also be neat if I was able to organise my playlists from the web as well.
6. Spotlight APIs for 3rd Party Developers: In-App purchases such as magazines, books and downloads such as podcasts and audiobooks from third-party apps need to be discoverable via iPhone's Spotlight search function.
7. Better Notifications: I haven't mentioned this first because it is so obvious that if Apple were not to do something about this than I would personally recommend anyone holding Apple stock to sell-sell-sell. Notifications need to slide in and out of view to alert the user of what is going on in background apps without interrupting what you are doing (Instead of now where they pause video and/or stop your video stream from working). A notification history also needs to be available so that if you unlock your phone you haven't lost to context of your alerts forever. The notification timeline needs to also be "glance-able information" when you turn on the screen.

Things I Would Hope Apple Implements:

• GameCenter and Ping Merged: They should be one service with additional abilities:
• GameCenter APIs For the Web: Let achievement tracking services like GiantBomb and Raptr have access to APIs that let you show off your GameCenter achievements as well as on other web services like Twitter and Facebook. This will provide much needed promotion of the service.
• Ping support for Apps / Movies / Books / Games: I want to see recommendations from my friends for not just music from the iTunes store but EVERYTHING it sells.
• Better iDisk Support or iCloud Replacement: Documents on Apple iOS apps like Pages etc need to be able to be synced between devices in a similar fashion to how DropBox currently works for many 3rd party apps. I'm assuming iCloud will provide this option.
• Display More Information on my Wallpaper: "Glance-able Information" like a To-Do List or App Notifications. It would be awesome if they added support for widgets but if not, at the very least, awesome apps like Stickies need the ability to export their notes as a wallpaper directly.
• Location Aware Behaviours: When my iPhone is connected to my local WiFi and is charging, the iPhone should be smart enough to choose that time to back-up my largest content produced on my iPhone to the cloud. I should also be able to set profiles for how I want a phone to behave in certain situations, like a lecture or a movie theatre. Dumb phones have had this feature for a decade now and I'm sure Apple could do it in a more intelligent way if they invested time into the feature.
• OTA Patches: Not Over The Air Updates, but OTA patches. I'd rather not have to download the whole ROM for the system whenever the iDevice needs to be updated.
• In-App Purchases Hosted By Apple: Shockingly, despite having to give 30% of revenue from In-App purchases to Apple, developers still have to host that content themselves. This often means a developer has less money to host those purchases on proper CDNs and the user experience becomes inconsistent between purchases.

Regarding A Filesystem on iOS

I also don't think there should be a file system on the iPhone like on the Mac. All documents should be kept in a universal pool with support for versioning of each document available via iCloud. Each app should have access to the document types it chooses to handle. Documents can be found by search and each app can keep it's own list of "Favourite" documents which it can cache locally.

How Do I Come To My Conclusions?

My wishlist is driven purely by observing strangers who are new to iDevices attempt to set them up, and conversations with long time users of iPhones who have never explored further into the iPhone than the SMS app.

I also notice that people seem to lose there phones A LOT. So I wonder what information is commonly lost when the average iPhone user loses their phone and how can we prevent that by combining the strength of a single-log-on setup and Cloud support in the background.

The Year's Biggest Week In Digital Media Live From Perth

So you're sitting in Perth, Western Australia, the most isolated major city in the world and you're wondering how to catch all the live events from WWDC and E3. Well I'm going to be keeping a keen eye on all of them and will be trying to keep this page updated with everything I know. It's this kind of globilisation which has got me campaigning for UTC to become the normal time EVERYWHERE but I'll talk more about that later.

The Schedule For Perth Viewers (WST)

Tuesday June 7, 2011 (Don't wake up tomorrow, it's tonight!)

1. 12.30am - 2am: Microsoft's E3 Keynote (UTC: 4.30pm Monday June 6, 2011)
2. 1am - 2.30am: Apple's WWDC Keynote (UTC: 5pm Monday June 6, 2011)
3. 3.30am - 4.30am: EA's E3 Keynote (UTC: 7.30pm Monday June 6, 2011)
4. 5.30am - 6.45am: Ubisoft's E3 Keynote (UTC: 9.30pm Monday June 6, 2011)
5. 8am - 10am: Sony's E3 Keynote (UTC: 12am Tuesday June 7, 2011)

Wednesday June 8, 2011

1. 12am-2am: Nintendo's E3 Keynote (UTC: 4pm Tuesday June 7, 2011)

Live Broadcasts / Coverage

Apple @ WWDC

No official live video stream has been announced yet. If no live stream appears your best bet is to follow some of the popular live blogs. This Is My Next should have a good live-blog here. Engadget should be rocking their live-blog here. I think Macworld is hosting their blog here. Twit should also be broadcasting video of their live commentary of the event here and will likely have "Post-Game" analysis as well.

The E3 Press Conference Live Streams

Each major player at E3 is streaming their own live coverage of their keynotes. Follow the links here:

1. Microsoft
2. EA
3. Ubisoft
4. Sony
5. Nintendo

E3 "Post-Game" Live Coverage
Giant Bomb will likely have the best "Post-Game" commentary being broadcast live after each night of E3. You can catch it live here at approximately 11am Perth time.

Foxtel On Xbox 360 Has A Free Trial

Foxtel On Xbox 360 has a free one month trial going on at the moment. You can sign up here. It's one of those deals where you have to sign up with your credit card details so they can charge you for your second month of use if you forget to cancel the trial during the first month. So remember to set a couple of calendar alerts on your phone to remind you to cancel the trial if you're not digging it.

They of course make it as hard as possible to find the section where you can cancel the trial. I obviously haven't tried it yet but I'm pretty sure you can find it on this page, just scroll down past the "update package" section.

I'm interested in trying out the Xbox Foxtel service because its super simple to set up and there are no contracts. The reason I haven't bought a month to try it out before is because I really only want the sports channels which you have to purchase as an additional package on top of the basic service. That's always been the way with Pay TV I know, but I'd rather pay 20 dollars a month just for Fox Sports.

The other big draw back is the service is only un-metered on Telstra. I have an iiNet account with a pretty big bandwidth allowance, but I certainly wouldn't want to leave Foxtel running while I was cooking dinner.

I'll share my thoughts on the service after the trial is complete.

The Fight For Harry (The Real Wizard)

An interesting battle is heating up between a number of A-League teams hoping to lure Harry Kewell back to Australia now that he hasn't re-signed with Galatasaray.

Sydney, Victory and Newcastle seem to be the front runners. Apparently Melbourne Heart had the chance to sign him last season but he was too expensive. His demands are high but he could probably easily get that at any team in Europe. I'm sure he would probably prefer to play for Sydney in his home town since I assume he would be bringing his family home with him.

I think he would be a good draw for the competition, I know I would go to see him somehow, even though I'm too broke to be a Glory member yet again next season and they aren't chasing him. The A-League is in some dire need of some better promotion. Crowds are dropping and their marketing has been terrible, failing to capitalise on the success of the Socceroos and probably costing a lot for almost zero impact.

The Malthouse Dilemma

The press seems to be keen to get on the back of Collingwood and the coaching transition deal between Malthouse and Buckley but although I think its unlikely the deal will go smoothly, I think its a good idea in theory.

The idea at first seemed to be that Malthouse was coming up on his 10th year at the club, the same amount of time he had spent at West Coast. During his time at West Coast he had won two premierships but eventually got to the point where it seemed he had done all he could do. During his decade at Collingwood he had made the Grand Final twice but had not tasted ultimate success. I get the feeling that Eddie McGuire had sensed that Malthouse had made his run of it and it was time to look to the future and the answer was right there with their favourite son of recent times in Nathan Buckley. It was meant to be a win-win situation for all, with a chance for Malthouse to bow out gracefully while providing Buckley with a valuable apprenticeship. To Eddie it probably seemed like the perfect plan, and even though I am not a fan of his, I admired the idea even back then.

The spanner in the works came when Malthouse of course finally took the Magpies to premiership glory, one season before the transition was to happen and Buckley seemed to have faded out of the spotlight. This still seemed to me to be a great way for Mick to finish out his time at Collingwood and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Now, almost half way through the defence of their premiership they are sitting second on the ladder and look like they have a good chance of going back-to-back. Of course, everyone is now looking to Eddie, posing this hypothetical scenario and asking why you would get rid of a back-to-back premiership coach. Even their captain is certain Malthouse will stay on.

Now, this scenario may very well unfold, but I am still backing McGuire's original plan. Why would a club want to keep a champion coach on without a transition plan and risk him losing interest much like their biggest opposition for the 2011 cup. Why would Malthouse not want to go out on top either? Even if he wants to keep on coaching, I think there are plenty of other teams who would be interested to offer a fresh start.

I don't think Malthouse is the one losing out in this plan. The only person I can see not liking this plan is Nathan Buckley. He's the man who will inherit a team that will be on the verge of the inevitable re-building phase that is essential to a modern successful AFL team. If Collingwood start losing while they re-build, the fans won't see it so clearly and will be vying for his blood. Will Buckley be able to see out the re-building phase? Will he even stick around to see the transition plan even go ahead?

We shall see... but one thing is for sure, my interest in Collingwood will almost drop to zero once Malthouse departs the top job. I'd love Malthouse to go back-to-back, he's a great man and a hero of my youth.

The 'Gang of Four' and Should Microsoft Be In It?

It's an interesting couple of weeks for the tech world.  D9 this week, E3 and WWDC next week.  Things got kicked off with D9 and Eric Schmidt of Google discussing what he calls the "Gang of Four", a group of four companies, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google who are collectively worth about half a trillion US dollars and are leading the consumer technology revolution.  However, one company was notably left out of the group.

"Microsoft is not driving the consumer revolution in the minds of the consumers."

Schmidt was immediatly questioned as to why he left Microsoft out of that group, given the success of the Xbox platform only to reply that the Xbox doesn't count.

“it’s not a platform at the computational level."

I hate to be the one defending Microsoft here, but I beg to differ.  What consumer is worrying about the "computational level"?  Consumers want to consume, and they are consuming content on the Xbox 360 at exceptionally high levels.  With consumers discovering that the Wii is just a gimmick and with Sony seriously dropping the ball recently (to the point where now even my parents will never again put a credit card near them again), Microsoft has pretty much won the war of the living room, even if it was with the help of external services like Netflix.  Perhaps Eric Schmidt should be checking the sales figures of Google TV and comparing it to the sales figures of the Xbox 360, a product which is now over 5 years old, and get a feel for what might actually be in the minds of consumers.

John Gruber is also quick to dismiss Microsoft, saying they don't have a consumer hit on their hands like that of the iPad, when in fact, Mircosoft has one that is growing faster.

Now, it of course remains to be seen whether or not Kinect will become another Wii-like gimmick or whether or not Chrome OS will eat into the dominance of Microsoft's core Windows/Office business.   It does however seem sensible for us to wait at least until the end of E3 before dismissing Microsoft's future.

Let's also not forget that the places of the other members of the gang are anything but locked in.  Facebook, who are probably the most deserving member (and part owned by Microsoft), now has the ear of over half a billion people yet seems to have little imagination as to what to actually do with so much power.  Amazon, although highly influential in the US, has a fairly limited presence outside of the US where Apple now sees over 50% of its revenue being generated from.  Microsoft on the other hand is investing a lot more in international markets, adding support for IPTV via Foxtel in Australia and Sky in the UK as well as it's own Zune service.

Apple itself has a lot to prove at it's own developers conference next week with the release of iOS5 and its new cloud service.  So far it has shown reluctance to invest any of its huge cash reserves on building it's software teams which are being spread increasingly thin as the company expands it's two major platforms.  As a result of this lack of investment, many simple features remain missing from the iPhone almost four years after release in areas where Apple refuses to let third party developers compete.   Even the iPad is missing basic features that would require little extra investment.  If Apple really wants to keep it's profitable niche in the market, it can't sit on it's laurels.

So, if this was like fantasy football, who would you like in your 'Gang of Four'?

Will Apple Spoil Microsoft's Skype Party?

Apple could almost instantly severely devalue Microsoft's $8.5 Billion purchase of Skype with one simple move.  The big question is, do they have the focus to do it?  It shouldn't be that crazy of an idea either, seeing that they already indirectly promised almost a year ago that they would try and do it:



Yep, when Steve Jobs announced FaceTime at 2010's WWDC he said it would be set up as an industry standard.  It's coming up to one year later and we've heard very little about it.  When the all solid-state Macbook Airs were announced later on in 2010, Steve very briefly answered a question concerning the matter.  He didn't seem to rule it out, depending on how you interpret his answer.

Is Apple still working on making FaceTime an open standard?  Or is this just another case of one of Apple's small teams* losing interest in a project or being moved onto something else?

* The fact that I can't link directly to the Fortune magazine article on the iPad is reason #551 why old media will still fail even with the iPad.

Baz and Gatz

So, I was watching a version of Northanger Abbey the other night.  I actually quite enjoyed it, I rarely enjoy Austen adaptations if I have already read the book first. I guess in this case there has been enough distance between reading the book and seeing this adaptation.  Anyway, the reason it got me to write this is because it featured Carey Mulligan as Isabella Thorpe.  Carey Mulligan is attractive and did well in the role, however, this film confirmed to me that as attractive as Mulligan is, she is no Daisy.

Yes, it seems that Baz Luhrmann has cast Ms Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan in his film adaptation of The Great Gatsby.  Luhrmann is one of my favourite filmmakers and as a fellow Australian, a bit of a hero.  A lot of people have some beef with him and there are a lot of homo-phobes who are scared to like him but all of them share one thing in common, deep down they know he is one of the truly unique filmmakers going around.

I only find that he has one significant flaw, and that is his casting.  I have liked Nicole Kidman's work at times, but I often found the chemistry between her, Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman in their respective Luhrmann collaborations hard to believe.   However, those films are so steeped in "old-timey" dramatics that intimate chemistry between the lead characters is almost irrelevant.  It seems strange to me then that he would cast the diminutive Mulligan in such an iconic role.

The role of Daisy Buchanan is more than just a character, she is an image in the mind of Gatsby that represents perfection, the ultimate aspiration, a reason for being.  Why then would you cast a woman, that while being the new "It" actress on the scene, has gained that attention for having the perfect "girl-next-door" qualities.  Daisy is by no means "the girl next door".  She is the exact opposite.  I am concerned they have cast her purely based on hype.

Hype has won over sense yet again.  Yet, when you ask most people about how hype is affecting production of Luhrmann's next film, I bet you most people will complain that it is being filmed in 3D.  Why make a period film in 3D? They will ask.

I think quite the opposite, if there is one filmmaker who should rightfully be shooting in 3D, it is Luhrmann.  Have you seen Moulin Rouge or Strictly Ballroom on the big screen?  They are amazing, It almost felt 3D just from his dramatic use of the camera, costume, art design and choreography.  Imagine how he could capture Gatsby's wild 1920s parties shooting in real 3D?  It could very well be a wild ride and he will put you in the driving seat.

So no, hype has driven the casting of Mulligan, not the choice of 3D.  Let's just hope that Carey Mulligan can live up to the hype and has the acting chops to make us believe that she is the image of unobtainable womanly perfection.

P.S.  The other annoying thing, which is almost laughable, is the number of mainstream media outlets claiming that this is a "re-make" of 1974's "The Great Gatsby" directed by Jack Clayton.  Umm... no, The Great Gatsby is a novel, how someone claiming to be a journalist would not know this is beyond me.  It has been adapted for the screen 4 times before, twice before the 1974 version.  Francis Ford Coppola has had nothing to do with Luhrmann's version.

P. P. S.  Hayley Atwell is rumoured to have been cast as Jordan Baker. Coincidentally, Atwell plays Ms Crawford in the 2007 adaptation of Mansfield Park which I also watched as part of my Austen binge.  Surprisingly, I think Atwell could well be perfect as Ms Baker.  Ms Crawford and Ms Baker are quite similar characters when you think about it, and Atwell played Mary Crawford well. If you want a preview of what Ms Atwell will look like in 1920s garb, you can get a preview by checking her out in the 2008 adaptation of Brideshead Revisited playing Julia.

iPad 2 Buyer's Guide: Sight Unseen

With the imminent release of the iPad 2, Steve Job's reality distortion field seems to be having more affect on the tech press than usual. I'm here to show you the forest and help you make your iPad buying decision and I haven't even touched the iPad 2! This normally would be a bad thing, but given the hype around the iPad, I think it gives me a more down-to-earth perspective.

Since this is my first main post to my new blog, I should give you some context to this post. I just recently had my 15th Anniversary of being an Apple fan. My first Apple product was not an iPod. While I am their biggest fan, I am also their biggest legitimate critic. You'll have to keep reading this blog to see why. I use my Apple gadgets in very geeky ways, but I also introduce them to friends and family who regularly need advice on what path to take to improve their digital world.

I shall format this buying guide as an FAQ.

All The Questions You Really Want Answered

I don't have an iPad, should I buy one?

• Do you want a tablet computer? Remember, although you can create on the device, the primary value of the iPad at the moment is as a consumption device. Whether it be surfing, reading, watching, gaming or sharing photos.
• The best value of the iPad is as a secondary device, unless you are retired and you just need something to stay in touch with family via email and skype, it can only really replace your laptop if you already have a desktop at home and/or work.
• If you do want a tablet, than yes, the iPad 2 is the only one worth buying.

Why aren't the other options worth buying?

• At the moment there are only two other legitimate options. The Motorola Xoom and the iPad 1. The Motorola Xoom is more expspensive than an iPad, has less apps that support it and will likely not be supported beyond the end of this financial year once a rash of newer Android tablets appear on the market. Motorola do have a better record of supporting their old products than other Android manufacturers and they have already promised to upgrade the built in 3g modem of the Xoom with a 4g modem when they are available but after that, I predict support for future android updates will plummet before the year is out.
• Android tablets need at least another year of maturing before spending a lot of money on them. The HP Touchpad looks super cool, but it's not out yet and developers may not support it, you wouldn't want to gamble $600 plus on it unless you were super curious.
• The iPad is not a gamble, it's now a mature platform, but...

What about the iPad 1? Or if I already have an iPad 1, should I upgrade?

• No. The iPad 1 is a great tablet and although it is now really cheap, you're better off spending the extra $100 and future-proofing yourself by getting the duel core iPad 2.
• If you already have an iPad 1, there is no need to upgrade. Post-PC devices are all about the software, the hardware should disappear. Apple is keeping the iPad 1 well supported and I just upgraded my iPad 1 to iOS 4.3, the exact same software to what the iPad 2 is running, so apart from the built in cameras, the iPad 1 pretty much gets all the new features as the iPad 2.

Yeah, but what about the dual core chip in the iPad 2... is it worth upgrading for that?

• After reading some of the early reviews of the iPad 2 it is clear that the dual core chip helps make things snappier however the iPad 1 is no slouch.
• iOS 4.3 doesn't seem to have added any specific features to support the dual core chip. Multi-tasking doesn't seem to have been upgraded to take advantage of the extra core and due to iOS's extremely poor implementation of notifications, your iPad will still completely lock up and stop what it's doing whenever you get a push notification.
• When iOS5 comes out, it is possible that it will be designed around a dual core chip and have much better multi-tasking support. Wait and see.
• The graphics support is a lot better as well, but iPad developers will be writing for the lowest common denominator, and that is the iPad 1. All 15 million of them already in the wild.
• So, if you don't have an iPad yet, get the iPad 2 to future-proof yourself but until iOS proves it is capable of taking proper advantage of a dual core chip, keep your iPad 1 if you already have one.

I'm an App/Tech reviewer, won't the HDMI-out help me do demos?

• No! iOS is all about how we interact with software via touch. The HDMI-out does not help you get footage of the user using touch to interact. Please continue capturing footage with a camera as normal.

What about those cameras though?

• This is where so many media outlets have got it oh so wrong! The two cameras added to the iPad 2 are there to be video cameras. NOT STILL CAMERAS. Even then, they're designed to display video, not record video. Yes, there is software included to take still photos but trust me (and Apple knows this), if you walk around trying to take photos or record video with your iPad, you are going to look like a total tool. This is not what tablets are for. Instead, please use a regular camera or use the camera on your iPhone (or crappy other phone) which you take with you everywhere, then import it!

So what are the cameras there for then?

1. Video conferencing. Facetime or Skype.
2. AR: Alternative Reality. Games or regular apps. Don't know what I'm talking about? If you have an iPhone, check out Plane Finder AR, Falcon Gunner or Word Lens.

Is the iPad good for video conferencing?

• Not really. Do you really want to hold up a 10" tablet in front of your face while you chat? Or let it balance on your lap so that they can see up your nose?
• I personally would rather hold up my phone to video chat, even then, I'd rather use my computer or laptop because the camera is already mounted perfectly in front of your face. Hands free!
• At the moment, nobody uses Facetime. Millions of people use Skype but it is not currently a native iPad app so the experience is poor. They will likely update it soon though, now that the iPad has cameras.

Are there any new hardware features in the iPad 2 worth having?

• Yes, there is one new feature that will be the most useful. The biggest limitation of the iPad 1 was not the lack of a dual core processor, but the lack of RAM. Having to reload web pages and videos having problems caching (likely a software flaw in all iOS devices but the extra memory in the iPhone 4 improved things) was a real big bottle neck when using the iPad 1. The RAM in the iPad 2 is at least doubled to match the iPhone 4 so surfing and watching videos on the net will be a lot better.
• However, I have heard reports that memory management in iOS 4.3 is a lot better and using multiple tabs in Safari on the iPad 1 is greatly improved. I shall test this myself.

But the iPad doesn't have Flash... won't other tablets support this one day?

• This is one of the iPad's best features.
• Flash slows down your device, makes it more prone to crashes and security exploits as well as draining your battery faster.
• Flash is not the internet, it is a plug-in. A plug-in that is controlled by one company and they decide which devices they will write it for and when they will release it. Famously the Motorola Xoom can't even display it's own website while it waits for the flash plug-in. It seems the whole non-Apple world is being held back waiting for Adobe to update or write Flash support for their devices when they should be spending their time investing in the open standards the internet is built on. Every device that does not support flash is helping to save the internet and make it a better place for everyone.

Should I get a Smart cover?

• No, they are not a case.
• Yes, they snap on awesomely but ask yourself this... If you dropped your iPad, would these covers protect it? No!
• The reason the iPad uses a glass screen is because its highly scratch resistant. Otherwise they would use a plastic screen to make the iPad a lot lighter. I don't recommend trying to scratch it, but the main weakness of iPad durability does not come from scratching the screen. It's when you drop your iPad on its exposed edges, even from a small height, and the glass shatters. These covers do not protect or absorb impacts on the edges, therefore they are useless. Get a case that protects primarily the edges, secondarily reduces scratches on the screen.
• So what is the point of using them at all? The only benefits I can see is the instant-on feature, so you just open the cover and the iPad screen switches on without needing to do an unlock swipe. You can also fold the cover into a stand but most third party cases will include both of these features sooner than you think.
• Most reviews comment about how its difficult to fold the cover away to hold the ipad in one hand, depending on how you hold it. I could be going crazy but even though the products are getting sleeker, in the real world, Apple seems to be getting worse at design. Don't believe the hype! Perhaps it's the lack of good competition in the premium market?

Should I get a Wi-fi or 3G/GPS model?

• It all depends on your use case...
• If you need GPS in your iPad, then it's a no brainer, get the 3G model.
• If you don't have Wi-Fi at home and you have no interest in getting it, then yes, 3G should be something to consider but...
• If your carrier does not support having two separate devices on one data account, it's better saving the money and getting the Wi-Fi model. Use your data-connection on your smart phone and share it over wifi to the iPad via the personal hotspot feature. This may cost money to activate elsewhere but in Australia it is free for most plans so far. Why do you want to have two different data plans for two devices? Remember, you always have your phone with you.
• For me, the iPad is used mainly at home or (if I had a real job) at work. I almost exclusively leave mine on the coffee table during the day and by my bed at night, both locations have Wi-Fi. I use mine while on the couch watching media, even controlling my HTPC or showing friends stuff when they come over. At night I read, or stream media from my Media Server. In the morning I read the news and check twitter. When I leave the house, I just take my spartphone. I imagine hardly anyone would ever take their iPad with them when they leave their house unless they use it for work. When I do, I use the personal hotspot.
• Even when you travel, you can't use 3G on planes and data roaming is stupidly exspensive. You're always going to be using Wi-Fi.

16gb or 64gb?

• I recommend the 16gb. I don't see why you would want to store more than 16gb on your iPad. 16gb is enough to store more than 10 hours of video for a plane ride (Your battery will run out before you run out of video).
• The world is moving to the cloud, especially video, which takes up the most room on your iPad. Stream everything! Watch Netflix, ABC iView or use Air Video to watch videos from your Media Server /Desktop /Laptop over Wi-Fi or 3G.
• Even if you aren't nerdy enough to have a Media Server or run Air Video. Check out some of the new iTunes features. iOS4.3 now supports Home Sharing streaming. Just open iTunes and connect to your iTunes library from your iPad and watch your content from anywhere in your house!

I primarily want to read e-books, is the iPad good for that?

• I would personally recommend getting a dedicated e-reader like a Kindle. Even if you don't mind reading off an illuminated screen, the iPad does so much more than an e-reader that it is very easy to get so distracted by everything else you can do on it, that you never actually read any books.

So that's about it. Hopefully that helps you make up your mind. If there are any other questions you would like to ask, leave them in the comments.

My Top Geek Bid

Update 17th of March 2010

Game Over. However, I successfully campaigned to make sure Jess's scores be fairly considered and she has made the top five! So please allocate your support to her from now on. They have stretched the "Top 5" so it now includes six people. So... I came seventh, obviously they didn't feel the need to stretch further... I realise that gives Jess statistically less of a chance to win but... that's corporate competitions for you!

Update 14th of March 2010

Round 3 finals challenge has been completed, awaiting results. It's unlikely that I will get through but I did manage to have one victory. The challenge was flawed in the way it was set up, leading to at least 40% of contestants being severely disadvantaged. I had assumed it would be dealt with pretty simply after I brought it up to the group but found some pretty explosive opposition from some members of the 60% who benefitted from the mistake. They wanted to discredit my thoughts on the matter, claiming I was biased and they were somehow impartial because the mistake helped give them a large advantage. Simple logic prevailed however and they did not succeed with their scare campaign. A solution that makes the contest more even seems to have been found. Hopefully some of the other contestants I stuck up for in the war make it through!

This whole contest has been a much bigger victory than a trip to the USA would have been. I made at least one new friend, if not more, developed more trust with some of my older friends and as an added bonus got some good exposure for my filmmaking! I hope to have a more regular presence on Jimmerish.com for the rest of the year.

Update 4th of March 2010

Top Ten!

Update 28th of February 2010

My video for the 2nd finals round challenge of iiNet's TopGeek competition is now online for you to view and "Like" (If you want to support my campaign). This round we had to pitch an idea for a TV Show or Movie in a geek genre. You had to write a treatment and film or storyboard a scene to demonstrate the film/show's premise.

• You can watch my video in full quality on Vimeo (or below) but please "Like" the youtube version here.
• You can see all the entries from the other TopGeeks who submitted videos here.
• ( I'll update this post later when the storyboards from the other competitors are online to view)

Update 18th of February 2010

Made it into the second round of the finals for the competition! Despite the judges comments I am apparently ranked third after the first round. Thanks to everyone who liked the video on youtube and kept it in the judges' minds.

Update 16th of February 2010

Round 1 of iiNet's Top Geek finals is here. You can help me out by sharing, watching, and most importantly "liking" my Challenge 1 Video here.

What else can I do?

There are 18 other entrants remaining in the finals, you can see all the videos for the first challenge here. You can buy the soundtrack used in my Top Geek videos on iTunes here. You can see the Challenge 1 video in HD here. If you would like to go behind the scenes, check out this video below that features a Director's commentary of my Challenge 1 Video:

Stay tuned to see what happens next. Until then, you can see me spoil the view of some very beautiful women. Or perhaps you could play the Top Geeks on Xbox Live by adding "topgeekoz" as a friend and viewing that account's friend list or join the Steam group. Check out my Top Geek profile here. Or You can watch my original bid video below:

Just something to start with...

I have to start blogging more often. I will try and do at least one post per week this year. Instead of cluttering Jimmerish.com with my crazy musings I shall keep that primarily as a portfolio of sorts and blog here at "Jimmerish World". The idea is to write things based around my world view. I may add a proper manifesto later. However, my main interest is to show you the forest while everyone else shows you the trees.

This will eventually be linked on the Jimmerish.com home page, but until then, follow along at world.jimmerish.com

Make Your Wireless Router Location Aware

"Location Aware" is the new cool kid on the block, and he/she is actually really cool. A lot of devices have gps built into them these days opening up a whole world of possibilities so endless It blows the minds of the broad minded.

Unfortunately, GPS generally does not work inside buildings, so how does your device know how to find itself? Well, what we do often have inside buildings is wireless networks. Yep, the thing without wires that lets your laptop magically connect to the internet. So, if you let your wireless router know where it is, the things around it will have a pretty good idea of where they are as well.

So, do the world a favor and submit your wireless router to the database here. It's free, quick, safe and something everyone can benefit from and you can feel good about it. Don't be selfish and say "Well I'll probably never use it." Remember, the world has a lot more than one person in it. The more people who submit, the better triangulation everyone can get.

Once you have done that it should be entered into the database pretty soon. Your iPhone and iPod Touch will then be able to use it with the built in google maps. Want to use location on your laptop now without GPS? Get the Loki plugin now.

Flickr Maps amongst various other web applications already support it. Just click "Find My Location" in the top right hand corner. Switch to satellite view and zoom in, if you've submitted details of the wireless routers around you correctly, it will now have a pretty good idea of where you are. Now you can explore the photos uploaded by the community around you in seconds.

Even if you don't have an iPhone, perhaps you have friends that come over to your house with their iPhones who have a tendency to leave them behind, lost in your house. Maybe you had a party, people had a few to many drinks, who knows. They don't have to freak out because they will be able to find their iPhone easy. You saved the day just by adding location to your wifi!

You could be a hero!

Please, vote with intelligence this Saturday in the Daylight Savings referendum.

This Saturday we are voting for something very important. Those of my peer group who are For daylight savings only seem to have one 'argument' and it's kind of embarrassing. They say it just 'feels good' or 'I could go to the beach at 8pm, although I haven't really, but i could!' even though not having daylight saving never bothered them before the trial.

Yet, my peer group is barely affected by the changes that daylight saving brings. At the same time, they seem to be ignoring the thoughts of people who ARE actually affected, be it farmers, Northern WA residents and/or children. So it seems to me their decision to vote Yes is possibly both selfish and extremely shortsighted. But hey, its a democracy, you can vote for whatever you want, anybody can vote without thinking. However, for those who wish to put at least some thought into it, I've written a little guide. Some food for thought.

You can read the official argument for a YES vote here and you can read the official argument for the NO vote here. I urge you to do so, just so you know what you are voting for this Saturday.

For Disclosure: After reading into both sides of the argument I have decided to vote No. In fact I've become very depressed that anyone would vote YES when you consider the consequences at hand. I feel Daylight saving is an extremely outdated ideal and is especially unsuitable for WA which spans an entire continent North to South. WA needs to be more progressive and not go back to the pre industrial revolution days when daylight savings was required in Europe to save on candles (Unfortunately it doesn't save anything in 21st century Perth).

I'd also like to outline my own rebuttal to the key arguments made by the YES campaign. The YES campaign only provides two arguments for daylight savings. Both are seriously flawed.

1. Allows families to spend more time outdoors together after work.

Wrong. In fact its possibly the opposite. Just because daylight moves, It doesn't mean your work or school start and end times change.

Without Daylight savings during summer in Perth, the sun sets between 7.20pm and 7.30pm. The average child between 3 and 10 years of age require between 10 and 11 hours of sleep for a healthy lifestyle.

To get them up between 6am and 7am to either get them ready for school (or ready for day care before your work during the school holidays), you'll need to get them to bed by 8pm at the latest. Most parents I've known generally begin preparing their kids for bed at 7.30pm. Just when the sun is setting normally.

With Daylight savings however, your extra hour of daylight begins at 7.30pm. So do you stay out with your kids for an extra hour and reduce their sleep by an hour? No! They are still sent to bed at the same time, because school and work still starts at the same time! So, really, all you have accomplished with DST is sending them to bed in daylight and guess what, I know this from personal experience, KIDS HATE THAT! The more trouble you have getting them to sleep, the less time you get to yourself and spouse (if you are lucky enough to have one), which from what I'm told, is equally important to the sanity of a healthy family as 'family time'. Not to mention the health and mood benefits of a kid who has had a good nights sleep.

My kid self would hate me if I voted for daylight saving.

In a normal Perth summer, we are very fortunate to have plenty of low UV sunshine between 5pm and 7.30pm to enjoy with our families. Then on special nights, some of Perth's unique activities such as outdoor cinemas, concerts and theatre which we like to picnic and bbq at can start earlier on weeknights and have the improved romantic atmosphere of a balmy Perth night when it gets dark at the perfect time of 7.30-8pm.

(Plus, the extra daylight in the morning actually helps stimulate the Circadian rhythm meaning it's easier for all of us to wake up and be less grumpy, especially kids.)

2. Going to DST saves confusion when doing business with the Eastern States.

Since I spend a lot of time sourcing my film equipment from, and submitting applications to, places ouside of WA I can partly appreciate the idea of this argument. However, from my own experience, the effects of daylight saving actually make it harder to do business with the Eastern States, let alone the rest of the world. See why below:

Why this is wrong part A:
The proposed Daylight Savings Time (DST) regime which you are voting for on Saturday is either too long or too short. It's completely flawed. Our March mornings are already too dark under DST (Sunrises not till 7.20am!), and yet we are STILL out of sync with NSW / VIC / ACT / TAS.

Timezone differences between Western Australia and NSW / VIC / ACT / TAS in any given year if the May 16th referendum is passed:

1. January 1st - Last Sunday in March: 2 hours
2. Last Sunday in March - First Sundday in April: 3 hours
3. First Sunday in April - first Sunday in October: 2 hours
4. First Sunday in October - last Sunday in October: 3 hours
5. Last Sunday in October - December 31st: 2 hours

So in any given year under the proposed DST regime, there will be 5 different periods of time zone difference. Without DST there is only 3.

Between NT and QLD (Who are the only other state/territory who share similar higher latitudes to us) under the proposed DST periods, there will be 3 as well, while without Daylight savings there is NONE!

How does the proposed WA DST make doing business easier?

Answer: It doesn't. Eastern States businesses unfortunately tend to assume that WA changes to Daylight savings at the same time, always causing problems in the transition periods.

Why this is wrong part B:
As the official argument against the referendum intelligently points out, NSW / VIC are now (and even less so in the future) not our most important business partners. Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing all share the same timezone with some very special people. US! Yay, this gives the WA economy a strategic advantage over NSW / VIC as an increasingly larger percent of our business is done with Asia. Globalisation is a reality we must face and if Australia is to become a stronger economy, Asia is the key. All of us in WA benefit from a stronger economy. If we go to DST, we are losing part of that unique advantage.

Also, as all of you should know quite well, phone support centers for most companies are now spread out around the world and they 'Follow the Sun'. I could go on even more about the effect on farmers and how legacy software (Even modern software like this blog!) is largely ignorant of DST in Western Australia and this impacts small businesses the most but surely you get the idea now!


You can dispute my points in the comments but please, vote intelligently and just remember, (to my peers especially) nobody ever complained that our Summer nights were too short before the DST trial came in. Think about it, you still had a great time, because Perth summers are already the best in the world! You can vote NO and still have great Summers for years to come. It's a win-win situation. Although today you may live in Perth and have free time to idle away in the evenings, one day in the future you may have a job on the mines, or have a young family and you, like the last generation has finally realised, may come to regret your narrow view today.

Dear Mr Mann

Please, Please, Please stop. There is no excuse for shooting a digital movie at NTSC frame rates these days. Nobody is going to be able to take your period film seriously.

You make me feel sick, literally, I won't be able to watch your movie no matter how good the story is. What a total waste of talented filmmaker.

A Very Basic Wishlist

Things that my 2 year old SE k800i does that I wish my iPhone could do.

• Copy and Paste
• Voice Note sound recorder (For Dictation etc)
• Xenon Flash for the Camera
• Bluetooth File Transfers and wireless modem use.
• Document Folder
• Youtube quality MP4 videos.

These are just some very basic things that I use all the time on my phone and they are pretty simple to use considering the ancient interface. The iPhone should be able to do these in a breeze. I guess the new 3rd Party App support will fix a number of these problems that I bet apple won't solve. I realize bluetooth transfers are probably a thing of the past now that everything will be over 3g / wifi but they already have bluetooth built in anyway?

Being able to use it as a bluetooth modem would also reduce the complaints about the Macbook Air.

Copy and Paste would be a killer App on the iPhone, I just don't get why they are ignoring it. I say this with experience, after traveling to Europe with an iPod touch. The ability to save specific information from a webpage or an email locally to a notes application or something and be kept there reliably offline. Or just pasting that information into another email or text message to send to someone else (and/or synced to your notes on Me.com?) So simple, yet so powerful! How can you really do that without Copy and Paste?

Now Just Fantasizing further…

With the Apple's strong foundations of youTube integration, iMovie and iChat, video would also be far more useful on an iphone than any other mobile device. With geotagging possibly as well!

A 3 megapixel or above camera with a xenon flash (or equivalent) would make digital compact cameras almost obsolete. Also... imagine using a compass within the iPhone and its fixed focal length lens (even if it had a zoom it could work as long as the meta data of the focal length is recorded), combined with gps and accelerometer (does an accelerometer already include a compass?) and possibly the focus distance data... Google could gather all those photos that are made public along with their meta data and map them onto google earth. Imagine that! A Time Machine like interface on Google Earth could allow you to track back in time in situations where photos overlap. We would see the world in the most amazing way.

Oh, and include one of these in the phone and its the only (non contraceptive) thing you will ever need in your pocket. And if your iPhone gets stolen? Well some remote gps tracking and system wiping software would be perfect.