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Jan 04 2012
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Thoughts on iPhone 4S and iOS 5

On January 2nd I drove to my local Verizon store to pick up my brand new iPhone 4S with iOS 5. I’ve been using a Motorola Droid (yes, the original one) for the past two years. I honestly can’t believe it lasted as long as it did, but that’s a good thing I suppose. I want to detail some of the differences I’ve seen between iOS 5 and Android 2.3.

My Moto Droid ran Android 2.1 when I got it, I upgraded it to 2.2 not long after that, and I rooted the device and installed 2.3 and ran variations of 2.2 and 2.3 for the majority of the time I used the device. Like I’ve said, I was originally very excited about Android but I’ve seen the light so-to-speak and the light is iOS. Maybe if I’d had a phone like the Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.0 over the past two years, things would have been different. But as it stands now, I am absolutely thrilled with iOS 5.

When I had my iPhone 4S in my hands, I noticed a couple things right off the bat. First, it’s super fast compared to the Droid. Swiping between screens is completely smooth, fluid motion. The screen resolution is amazing, the colors are bright and vibrant, and overall it just looks beautiful. The icons, the menus, and the overall look and feel of iOS 5 is outstanding compared to Android 2.3. It’s a night and day difference between the two operating systems in terms of overall design and fit-and-finish. Apple has had this stuff down for some time now and Android 2.3 just isn’t as good.

Second, the App Store is awesome compared to the Android Market. I’ve used many different versions of the Android Market and I’ve never really liked it from a UX point of view. But it worked, so it was alright. The big difference between the two is the simple fact that the App Store has more high quality, useful apps. Apple doesn’t have a perfect reputation because of the rules surrounding the App Store, but as a pure consumer of apps I can say that I appreciate the quality and the overall safety of the App Store.

Third, I love the overall design and function of both the iPhone itself and iOS 5. The camera is absolutely stunning and it takes awesome pictures. iMessage is very cool, the phone works perfectly so far (again I’m on Verizon), and other basic functions like Mail work great so far too. As a heavy Google user I’ve missed some of the integration I enjoyed with Android, but I can live without it. Android was fun for a while, but I need a real mobile operating system now and iOS is it.

At this point, two things would have to happen for me to switch back to Android:

  1. Apple would have to start failing miserably at improving and enhancing iOS and the iPhone
  2. Google would need to make Android a ground-breaking, pioneering mobile OS and pair it only with great phones

If that future comes to pass I may take another look at Android. I’ll be watching both sides as usual, so I will definitely keep up. However, for now I’m saying goodbye to Android and hello to iOS.

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Nov 10 2011
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Switching from Android to iOS

In early December I will use my Verizon upgrade to get an iPhone 4S. I’ve been using the original Motorola Droid for the past two years or so. When I upgraded to the Droid, I was very excited and that excitement lasted a long time. Before the Droid I was using a BlackBerry Curve, but I was never satisfied with it. With Android on the rise and the iPhone dominating the world of smartphones, I just felt like I was on the sidelines.

I wanted a mobile computer in my pocket. The natural choice would have been the iPhone because I am a happy user of a MacBook. However, I wasn’t about to change my wireless carrier (I like Verizon) so I was left with the new Moto Droid. I was excited, too, because I wanted an Android phone. I am a heavy Google user (Gmail, Calendar, Docs, etc.) and I wanted the tightly integrated Google OS.

As time has passed I’ve realized a couple things:

* The security of iPhone is better than Android
* Android fragmentation is real and it’s horrible
* Android devices often have terrible battery life
* Android’s overall polish is not as good
* Android is not very open
* The Android Market is the wild west

If I had to pick on one thing about Android that is making me switch to iPhone, it’s the issue of out of date software. I have always been an “update freak”. Unless there is some glaring reason not to update to the latest and greatest – I’m on it. I always keep my operating systems and software packages up to date. So it started driving me crazy that Android’s AOSP was iterating, yet Motorola was endlessly lagging behind in getting the updates to my phone.

I started to remedy the situation by rooting my phone and installing custom ROMs. I started with a ROM called Sapphire, and moved on to Peter Alfonso’s ROMs because he basically just takes the AOSP code from Google, mods it for the Droid, and releases it to the world. So because of Alfonso I’ve had Gingerbread (Android 2.3) for quite a while. The problem is that it’s buggy and makes my phone slow and crashy. This slow and crashy ROM, while current, is a big reason why I’m moving on.

Another problem is watching friends and family members getting junky Android devices. I’ve watched people get a cheap Android phone, usually from Samsung or LG, and witness their quick realization that it’s a piece of junk. These cheap Android phones never get OS updates, and the hardware is crap so the phone never works and they end up very unhappy. I directly blame Google for this because they are not executing enough control over how their product (Android) is used and perceived in the hands of users. They’re like Microsoft. They make a software product and rely on a bunch of manufacturers to figure out how to install it on their hardware and ship it out to users. The hardware manufacturers do a terrible, lazy, crappy job and many phones are junk as a result.

I completely understand and sympathize with people who warn about the dangers of Apple’s ecosystem. The “walled garden”, the “Nazi” App Store, the tight control over the devices and the sometimes outlandish rules. Apple rules the iPhone and iOS with an iron fist and there are pros and cons to how they do things. But the pros outweigh the cons for me. I want a polished, beautifully engineered smartphone. I want the security from the App Store, and I want access to OS updates directly from the maker. I can get all of that with the iPhone.

I realize that the App Store ecosystem is not perfect when it comes to security. But I read a lot more about security breaches in the Android Market. I realize that iPhones aren’t perfect. I’ve read through the Apple Discussion website. Nothing is perfect, but I think that the iPhone 4S is the best smartphone for my needs right now.

Android and Motorola – it’s been real.

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May 11 2010
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Firefox.next 64-bit Running on OS X

This is freaking awesome…

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Aug 27 2009
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Upgrade Path to Snow Leopard

I thought I would run down how and why I plan to upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard tomorrow.  I have a 2008 13″ White MacBook with OS X 10.5.8 and iLife ’08.  I became a “switcher” last September when I asked for a MacBook as a college graduation present.  I quickly delved deep into the Apple ecosystem and learned everything I could about OS X, Apple, and Mac software.  I learned the differences between OS X and Windows and I soon came to love much about OS X.

I began getting into Linux a couple years ago and had many experiences (good and bad) with both server and desktop installations of Linux.  I enjoyed the command line once I learned how to use it, and I quite enjoyed the nature of free and open-source software.  Linux was intriguing, complex, free, powerful, fast, and flexible but not without its own flaws.  I found it very difficult to use Linux as a desktop OS.  Sure I COULD do it, and I have done it many times and I still do it.  I’m a geek.  I can make anything I really want to work, work.  But that wasn’t the point.  I was used to Windows, but now I was using this OS that was very cool and cutting edge, but it was complicated and difficult to use.

Along comes OS X.  I got my Mac last year with a deep history and knowledge of Windows and a few months of using Linux.  I have to say I was completely blown away.  This thing is based on UNIX?!  It’s incredibly stable, it’s absolutely beautiful, it’s fast, sleek and easy to use.  I could run all the software I wanted, I could talk to any type of software or OS including Windows and Linux.  I could do just about anything and the overall experience was simply better.  It just worked.  What an idea.

Flabbergasted I continued on my journey into the world of OS X.  I soon learned about all the great blogs I could read to learn about Apple and Mac news.  TUAW, MacWorld, Apple Insider, etc. etc.  After a few weeks of reading these guys I quickly learned another lesson.  Apple is not perfect – far from it.  OS X is not perfect – far from it.  I browsed some of the forums and people do experience a significant amount of problems with Mac hardware and software.  Now to be clear, I firmly believe that Mac hardware is better than any PC hardware.  I also think OS X is better than Windows in many ways, but it’s mainly just different.

So I learned that OS X was very cool and everything it was cracked up to be, but it also suffered from bugs, security holes and general fixes that came down the pipeline from Apple.  No big deal.  I enjoy software updates, probably more than could be considered normal.  So I relished the fact that I got random updates from Software Update and typically I’m excited when I see the app pop-up to tell me it has something new for me to download.

(This is turning into much more than an upgrade post)

Fast forward to the present day.  I’ve done some serious damage to my Mac in the form of software installs and uninstalls, boot camps, beta software, experimental software, and all kinds of other stuff that makes my Windows machines very corrupted.  OS X doesn’t flinch.  I haven’t ever had OS X crash on me.  I’ve had apps crash, but the underlying operating system is rock solid.  Either way I decided that I’m going to wipe my hard drive clean and install Snow Leopard fresh when I get it tomorrow.  Here’s the plan.

Step 1:  I will run a quick Time Machine backup to make sure that everything is safely stored on my external WD MyBook hard drive.

Step 2:  Pop in the Snow Leopard DVD and get to the point where I can launch Disk Utility.  I’ve read in many places including TUAW and Lifehacker that you can install Snow Leopard clean by erasing your hard drive.  That’s what I’m going to do.

Step 3:  After Snow Leopard is completely installed I’m going to play around with it a bit and get excited.

Step 4:  Start the somewhat tedious process of reinstalling all my apps from scratch.  I’m going to avoid apps that are PowerPC (PPC) so I don’t have to install Rosetta.  I also will likely hold off on installing apps like Growl which I have heard will be released in a new version soon that will fully support Snow Leopard.  I want to install Office 2008, but it forces an install of Rosetta so I might just see if I can get along with OpenOffice.org or NeoOffice for now.  I don’t use them much anyway.

If I had my way all software on the Mac would be 64-bit and completely written in Cocoa within a year.  That would make me very happy.  Then hopefully OS X will boot into a 64-bit kernel by the next OS version (10.7).  According to my sources this might happen since the hardware and software in the Apple ecosystem will likely be syncing up at that time to the point where a 64-bit kernel makes sense.

For now, OS X 10.6 boots into a 32-bit kernel but nearly all of the native apps will be running in 64-bit mode.  That’s nice.

I can’t wait for the day when everything is 64-bit on the Windows, Mac, and Linux parts of the world.  I think it’s long overdue and I think it’s just silly.  Right now, from the research I’ve done both Windows and Mac are bridging the 32-bit to 64-bit gap by using hybrid methods.  OS X isn’t 100% totally and completely 64-bit and neither is Windows.  Windows gives you the option of installing a 64-bit or 32-bit OS, but even on the 64-bit side of things Windows has some serious systems in place to ensure 32-bit programs run just fine.  These are hybrid measures to ensure compatibility, but I want to see the day where it’s all 64-bit and that’s just how life is.

I’ll try to detail my experience with Snow Leopard tomorrow or over the weekend.

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Aug 26 2009
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Install iLife ’08 on Snow Leopard clean install

Let’s say you’re like me and you purchased the Snow Leopard upgrade but you just have the iLife version that came with your Mac.  Well all you have to do in order to install iLife after you upgrade to Snow Leopard is pop in your OS X install disc 1 that came with your Mac and click on the Optional Installs folder.  Once there, simply launch the package installer for Install Bundled Software Only.  This will install iLife which came with your Mac.  You’ll have to insert your OS X Install Disc 2 at some point, but that’s no big deal.

So, after you’ve upgraded your Mac to Snow Leopard using a clean install option, you can use your old OS X install discs to install iLife.

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Aug 26 2009
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OS X Snow Leopard arrives on Friday

I will write up a review of Snow Leopard once I get it in the mail on Friday.  I’ll try to make it as exhaustive a review as I have time for.

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Jul 15 2009
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Taking a (worthless) stand against Windows 7

Since last September I’ve become quite a fan of Mac OS X and my white MacBook.  I have a lot of love for technology, so it’s easy for me to spread it around sometimes.  I have a lot of love for Windows 7 too… and I liked Vista!  But the bottom line is that Windows 7 is hands down a better operating system than Vista is.  So imagine my surprise when Microsoft released the official pricing structure for Windows 7.  It’s the same old story.  Sigh…

A Windows 7 Professional Upgrade license is $200.  $200!!!  That’s mind blowing when you consider the fact that both Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 and Windows 7 are evolutionary upgrades to their predecessor platforms Leopard and Vista.  Apple has a reputation in the industry for charging a premium price for a premium product and never wavering on that point.  So it was a shock when Apple announced a $30 price tag for Snow Leopard.  I was wishing and hoping for a price like that and Apple didn’t disappoint.  I’ve described the pricing for Snow Leopard as a punch in the stomach for Microsoft.  Obviously, Microsoft does not understand the PC market, the consumer market nor the economy right now.

I want to have Windows 7 as my primary desktop OS, but I’m not going to pay $200 for an upgrade.  I’ll be sticking with Vista until I can get a deal no matter how much I really do want Windows 7.  To be honest, Vista works just fine for me on the PC and I love my MacBook.  I do most of my work on my MacBook anyway, so it won’t disrupt my workflow.

There was a deal Microsoft was running where you could buy an upgrade license to Windows 7 for 50% off, but that’s expired and I was mistakenly under the impression that it was going on longer than it really was.  Bummer.

I would pay $100 for a Windows 7 Pro license.  But with the state of Linux getting better and better and my love for Mac, I don’t see any reason to pay so much money for Windows.  Microsoft, you screwed up.  That’s what I think anyway.

Good luck!

UPDATE:  When talking about the pricing structure – remember that an upgrade from Leopard (10.5) to Snow Leopard (10.6) is $30.  Otherwise you have to pay the standard $130 for OS X.  This is still much cheaper than Windows Vista > Windows 7 at $200 if you want Professional. If you want a retail full version of Windows 7 you’ll have to shell out $300 for the Pro package.  Snow Leopard full retail is only $130.

Please refer to Paul Thurrot’s site for more info: http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/pricing.asp

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