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The Death of Steve Jobs

By Technology, ThinkingNo Comments

The death of Steve Jobs has been widely reported in the Media. A quick visit to the Apple website confirmed it (see screenshot above). Steve died of pancreatic cancer and has received worldwide tributes from the great and the good.

I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead, but was he really that much of a visionary as he’s been made out to be in the media? In recent years he’s most famous for the Iphone and the Ipad. So let’s look at them both.

First the Iphone:
(Image Copyright Tech Radar, 2011.)

I love the Iphone, indeed I’ve blogged about it (see Will an Iphone 4 change my life? & Iphone Essentials: Accessories & Apps). However how original was the concept of creating a phone that’s a mini-computer? In my opinion it was already being done and Apple simply moved into the phone market.

Next the Ipad. Looking at Steve Jobs he looks like he was Star Trek geek. And anyone who watches Star Trek will have seen these:
(Image Copyright Muktware, 2011.)

Looks remarkably similar don’t you think? Plus anyone who uses a laptop to check the net knows that often they’re not as mobile as they could be. So in my opinion not that much of an original idea.

What will be interesting will be to see how Apple will develop without Steve Jobs. Will they continue to have the stronghold over the tablet market or will the likes of Amazon and others seize the opportunity to get a foothold in the tablet market?

Steve Jobs undoubtedly brought Apple back from the brink of death, but I think he was more of a technology risk taker than a visionary. Since his return to Apple in 1997 he made devices that he liked and that luckily (for him and Apple) people in the majority also liked and enjoyed using.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Thursday 6 October 2011

Another Windows Update

By Technology4 Comments

A screen I see far too often these days!

I’m frustrated.

It seems that everyday when I shut down my laptop I see the screen above. “Installing an Update” it says, more like “Installing Another Update.” I’m a windows user by default, it’s what I’ve been brought up with. But I’m getting fed up of Windows installing updates with nothing changing or improving for me as a user. All that seems to happen is that my laptop gets slower and slower. If I was cynical, I could be thinking that Windows deliberately release updates that slow down computers, forcing users to upgrade.

What I’ve discovered with my iphone is that Apple only update their software occasionally. When Apple do update you see the changes and understand why they’ve made them. An added bonus with Apple is that the new updates don’t slow down the performance of the machine. In fact if Apple were clever and reduced their prices (Apple laptops, PC’s, etc. are very VERY expensive), I’d be a full fledged Apple user. In fact I think a large number of people would as well.

Just sharing my frustrations,

Antony

(Image Copyright of justlooking @ Flickr.)

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Monday 12 September 2011

Ebooks

By Amazon, Books & Authors, TechnologyOne Comment

Amazon has recently reported it’s selling two ebooks on it’s kindle to one of every paper book sold. This got me thinking, why can’t I embrace my love of literature through the medium of technology. I have an Iphone, with the kindle app. on it, yet don’t use it. So let’s look at the advantages of ebooks versus paper based:

Ebooks Paper Based Books
  • Access to your entire purchased library at any time.
  • Technology smaller and easier to carry than a paper based book.
  • Take up less space, no over filled bookshelf.
  • Usally some what water proof. * Not that I’d recommend you put it to the test.
  • Book mark doesn’t fall out of the book.
  • It will recommend other books you might like based on what others who’ve purchased the book have also read.
  • No postage and packing costs, as they are delivered via download over the Internet.
  • No waiting for delivery, purchase of the book is instant as is delivery via download.
  • Environmentally friendly – no trees are required along with the process of making paper, the process it’s self can also be damaging to the environment.
  • Fonts can be resized for those who have poor eye sight.
  • Often cheaper than paper based books.
    		•
  • Presented as the author intended.
  • Doesn’t require battery power.
  • Reliable information – publishers check information and the authors credability, whereas anyone can publish an ebook apparently.
  • Editorial – good level of grammar and spelling, ebooks might not have that level of editorial if self-published.
  • Many publishers now use recycled paper or participate in schemes such as for every one tree used, we plant two.
  • A paper book has soul.
    		•

    Clearly the ebook has many more advantages than paper books. But to me paper books have soul. It’s a bit of a difficult concept to explain. I can walk over to my bookshelf and run my finger along the titles looking for some information I’ve previously read. I find one that I think might have in the information I’m looking for, and I pick it up. It feels like the book were I’ve previously read the information. I just know it is. The glossy cover encourages me to open it up and inside the paper has that new book smell. I run my finger down the contents scanning for what I’m looking for and then get distracted by another section in the book. I eventually sit back satisfied, I’ve not only found the information I’m looking for but also reread several other chapters that I’d completely forgotten about, generating new ideas and concepts for me to explore later.

    You don’t get any of that with ebooks. You click your app, and use the search to find what your looking for in your purchased library. Results come up, done. You don’t go through the journey of finding the information and therefore don’t find any of those other chapters that generate new ideas and concepts. Remember it’s not the destination that’s important, but how you get there.

    So the reason I love paper books versus ebooks is because they have soul. Not the most factual based reason, but it’s how I feel. And remember, no one can ever tell you what you feel is wrong. Even if kids do look at you as if you’ve got two heads when you pull out a paper back in Costa Coffee.

    Write soon,

    Antony



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    Monday 1 August 2011

    The Contact Me Form

    By Technology, Thinking2 Comments

    On the Contact page there’s a form that allows people to send emails to me. It sends emails to an inbox that I only check occasionally. This inbox was specifically set up for the website and one that I change every few years. Sophisticated SPAM technology finds email addresses through these forms and bombards them with advertising, which is why emails from the site don’t go to my main inbox.

    This is something I really regret today. I logged in and found an email from an old friend dated February stating that his mother had passed away and inviting me to the service and wake. He couldn’t find me on Facebook (not surprising with my privacy settings), so he’d used the Contact page. When I think back to his mother, oh she was an incredible woman! She was wise, always made me smile and laugh. I would have liked to go, pay my respects and say goodbye.

    So it will never, ever, happen again. I’ve set up a forwarder to my other email account I check at least once a day. So you can expect if you use the Contact page, that I’ll actually recieve it and get back to you if you require a reply.

    Sleep well,

    Antony

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    Sunday 5 June 2011
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