Category Archives: apple

Technology Review…IOS7

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I don’t like it as good as I liked the old versions…IOS 6.whatever.

The flat icons don’t do it for me.  Isn’t 2D a step backwards?

The redesigned Calendar, Clock, Newstand, Game Center, Messages, Music don’t do it for me.  The camera’s “Square” feature is un-needed.  And the Camera doesn’t look as good all around.

So there you have it.

I like the new animations.  The “fly-in” looks great.  I like that tilting the phone creates a movement effect with the icons.  (Have you noticed that yet?)  I like iTunes Radio, but am not sure that should be included…That is everywhere, not just on IOS7.  I like the softer sound scheme a little better.  Siri sound better.  I am keeping HER female…Safari is better…more visual than before.

IOS7 looks better on my iPad Mini than on my iPhone 4S.

These are my thoughts.  What are yours?

SpartanNerd Sundays…Apple vs Google vs RIM vs Samsung vs Microsoft

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Do not conform<sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(A)”> to the pattern of this world,<sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(B)”> but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.<sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(C)”> Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is<sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(D)”>—his good, pleasing<sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(E)”> and perfect will.

Romans 12.2

The gist of my thinking on this post has to do with Apple, and the way they go about presenting their products.  I have been thinking about them some since I repaired my mac, and also since IOS7 dropped this week.  How in some ways, some company’s products seem to have features and conveniences that Apple’s do not have…but still they fall flat, while Apple continues to be successful.  And the reasons why.

The main reason why is the character of the business…They approach every product like it was the best that has ever been produced.  Samsung, Dell, RIM, etc. produce tons of different models of phones but never do they produce something that they present as a pinnacle product.  They seem to be imitators and copycats…who stay in the shadow of Apple.  And once you’ve used their products, that feeling of flatness rubs off on the end user.  

Even if their home screen has animation.  Even if there is a snazzy lock pattern feature.  Even if the device is waterproof.  Even if the device has a world-class camera.

Apple products on the other hand are solid.  Because the company is solid.

Case in point…The “phablet.”  Tons of people in the tech journalism world have been saying that Apple simply has to make a “phablet,” an oversized smart-phone or undersized tablet.   Many tech people were certain that a product like this was going to surface  last week.   

But it didnt.  I believe it wont.

The iPhone 5 already feels like a fine watch or piece of jewelry.  And as if affirming that with the world, they announced a new gold coloring in the iPhone 5s.  Otherwise, the phone is basically the same thing with some spec bumps.  

What lesson is there for a christian in this tech discussion?

Do you affirm that Christ alone is the single greatest thing in your life?   Has he made such a difference that people want it also?  Do you think of ways to refine your christian walk, knowing that your faith in Him is the pinnacle of what life can be?  When the world pressures you to become more like them, do you stick to your guns and dig in your heels?

You see, Apple is a secular company. But they are presenting leadership through character to the rest of humanity.  This is what the Christians in America need to return to doing.  If a tech company can provide such guidance, people in tbe business of saving souls should be all the more able.  



   

Buy a Mac….Don’t be a CheapSkate

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As mentioned numerous times, the SpartanNerd is a Cheapskate.  How cheap?  Well my nerdly pursuits are anything but cheap.  But I try to cut corners where I can, by subscribing to comics, buying booster packs of MTG cards instead of the cards I want, going with Netflix instead of cable\satellite, etc.

But where am I not a Cheapskate?
Well I figure there are three areas where being a cheapskate just won’t cut it….
Go ahead and get the expensive trash bags!
Buy the Scott-Tissue.
Get a Mac, instead of a PC.
The first two probably have obvious answers…..You want to avoid a mess.  Get the Hefty bags.  Want to avoid plumbing blockages, get the Scott-Tissue.
But what about the computer?  Well, when you buy a computer, you should be thinking….”Hmmm….I’m buying a friend and a working partner.  I’m buying a pet.  I’m buying an item that I am going to be seen with.  I’m buying an item that is dependable.”  SO YOU SHOULD GO AHEAD AND GET A MAC!
Yes it is more expensive at first, but hear me out Hub City Geeks!  I remember the days of DOS.  (Yes.  I am a true SpartanNerd!)  In those days, you had to know the commands to type at the prompt in order to accomplish anything.  Want to delete that cute kitten picture?  You had to type at the C:\> prompt, “del cutekitten.gif”   This command would only work in the root C: directory.  If it was in a different directory, (nowadays directories are called “folders.”) you would type something like 
“C:\kittypictures>del cutekitten.gif    .   Got me?  Of course not.  Most of you folks have only lived in the age of the mouse and the touchscreen.  This kind of code has been lost to the world of the casual nerd.
So after the golden age of DOS commands and codes, Microsoft Windows came along.  Keep in mind, this is how I saw it.  Windows was a HUGE ADVANCE.  You could see that folder on the screen, and open it, and delete the kitty by dragging it to the trashcan.  WOW.
Now I had a relationship with Windows.  You see, I could sense the DOS codes going on behind the scenes.  I had a leg up on everyone in this area, it seemed.  But Windows became WACK over time, and I didn’t realize it.  I was like that frog in the water that slowly came to a boil. And then a breakthrough.  A revelation.  A breath of fresh air.  and I didn’t see it coming.
I was invited by my employers to attend a Podcasting workshop.  (This was in 2005.)  At this event, people from Apple computers came and dug in their heels and taught us how to do podcasts.  Now I’ve done a few podcasts since, but what was transformative for me was that they gave me an eMac and an iPod.  The eMac ran OSX “Tiger,” and was really alien to me.  But after a day of using it and getting lost in the machine, and actually creating a product with basically no trouble, I realized that my friends the Window PCs had had their day in the sun.  Now the Mac was Back in Town!
Now I did have a little relationship with Apple machines before this workshop.  In elementary school we had Apple IIe computers that ran floppy disks.  In college we had a mac computer lab that would eat my disks.
But this was nearly ten years after all of that.  OSX is a dream compared to Windows, in every form.  My computers have crashed about 10 times in the last EIGHT YEARS.  I was handed a Windows 8 machine today for work, a Dell XPS, brand new out of the box, THAT THING HAS ALREADY CRASHED.
Go with the Mac.  You won’t regret it.