Mac Soda

Yesterday’s I Hate the iPhone piece got a lot of people upset at me yesterday. What they didn’t understand is that this is a three part series of articles. Yesterday’s was I Hate the iPhone, today’s is I Love the iPhone, and tomorrow’s is Let’s Fix the iPhone.

I love the iPhone. I love how I can access my voicemail one by one without having to listen to all of them. I love how I have my entire iPod with me in my phone at all times. I love how many amazing apps there are on the app store. I love the virtual keyboard, it is by far the best keyboard I’ve ever used. I love the calendar on the iPhone. I love the how its amazing browser can let me find anything I want wherever I am. I love my email on the phone… everything looks just like my computer. I love multi-touch. I love how great the camera is in good lighting. I love the 3.5 mm headphone jack. I love how the phone shuts off when you bring it to your ear. I love how the music fades when you answer a call, and comes back when its finished. I love how the icons wiggle and let you change them around. I love scrolling. I love GPS. I love having Facebook on my phone wherever I am. I love Youtube on the iPhone… it works great. I love Google Maps and Google Earth. I love drinking virtual beer. I love having stocks and weather with me anywhere. I love how amazing of an alarm clock it has. I love the scientific calculator. I love the App Store’s graphing calculator. I love the remote app, and the keynote remote app. I love sliding to unlock it. I love the volume rocker on the side. I love being able to turn off all my system sounds by flicking the silent/ringer switch. I love how it feels in my hand. I love the mobile iTunes store, especially now over 3G. I love what NetShare can do. I love cover flow in the iPod. I love watching movies on it in an airplane or car. I love Rolando. I love The Price is Right. I love Shazam. I love AIM. I love AOL Radio. I love Scrabble. I love Crash Kart. I love Ace Tennis. I love Flixster. I love Flick Bowling. I love Papi anything. I love Field Runners. I love iLightr.  I love how cheap the phone is. I love how easy it is to dial a number. I love how easy it is to start a conference call. I love having unlimited data. I love how fast 3G is!

Imagine what Apple can do for the next iPhone…

I’m having an ridiculously bad iPhone day, and need to rant somewhere. What better place than my blog?

I hate the iPhone. I hate how you can’t make a phone call without it dropping every two seconds. I hate how ridiculously cheap and flimsy the design is. I hate how it takes forever to boot up. I hate how Safari crashes every time you dare play any music. I hate how the screen gets smudgy. I hate how I can’t shoot a video on it. I hate how the ducking keyboard changes words you don’t want it to change. I hate how the home button takes up so much room on the screen. I hate how the battery can’t even last you through a day. I hate how the App Store is full of so many crap apps. I hate how badly they rip you off on text messages. I hate how it teases you with GPS, and can’t even do live Turn by Turn. I hate how terrible the camera is. I hate how the apps are touted so much, but using them for 5 minutes slams your battery life. I hate how you can’t get Push email unless you shell out 99 a year to Apple, or go to Microsoft or the ailing Yahoo. I hate how the vibrate switch flicks off in your pocket accidentally every time you put it in your pocket, causing it to ring right when you don’t want it to. I hate AT&T. I hate how Safari could be fast, but the slow-as-molasses processor won’t let it. I hate how there’s no flash. I hate how they sell the iPhone in Greece, and don’t even have a Greek keyboard. I hate how I can’t text a picture. I hate how the UI is even starting to bore me. I hate how Apple has the best OS search in the world, and can’t won’t put it on the iPhone. I hate how I can’t tether it, even if I’m willing to shell out 30 a month. I hate how there’s no voice dialing. I hate how it has bluetooth, but can’t use it for anything but pairing with a headset or car.

But I can live without Copy and Paste.

There are too many choices, so click the read link for the entire poll. Read the rest of this entry »

Never.

I am an avid Apple fan. I use an iPhone always, and I’ll never ditch it. I run a Mac Blog for crying out loud . That all being said, this is by far the best iPhone competitor I have seen thus far. Everything looks awesome, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. My only gripe would be Sprint, as their coverage is pretty terrible. Nevertheless, it looks to be the #1 iPhone competitor, and I hope it is. 

I’ve always secretly rooted for Palm, and I’m glad they’ve succeeded.

The last Macworld keynote ever has just ended, and while the general consensus was disappointment, there were definitely some great things that came out of it. However, there were also some bad, and there was even one that was plain awful. Time for the last Macworld recap.

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The Good

1. Phil Schiller. He did an awesome job giving the keynote, and was very humble throughout the time, at one point thanking the audience for coming.

2. iPhoto Faces. I’ve always thought of a concept like this, but never thought Apple would implement it. Obviously they are a step ahead of the game, as this face detection seems like it will actually work as advertised. The tight integration with Facebook and Google Maps is also a major plus in my book. iPhoto overall is a winner.

3. iMovie 09. While the original app struggled to win diehard iMovie 06 aficionados, iMovie 09 perfectly fills the gap, offering features that previously could only be found in Final Cut Studio 2. The image stabilization is a major winner, considering how shaky the footage of people who use iMovie will probably be, and the precision editing and green screening are major steps in the direction of narrowing the gap between simple software and professional results.

4. Garageband. I thought the idea of learning instruments from artists was extremely gimmicky when it was rumored, but the actual product is awesome. I love how artists tell the story behind their songs as they teach you how to play it. Great idea, and seemingly great execution. My only gripe is the price… 4.99 is a bit steep. 2.99 would have been the sweet spot. Then again, considering music lessons are 70 bucks an hour, this isn’t too bad. 

5. iWork 09. I have played around with it, and am very impressed so far. Keynote is magic, Pages is the best in its class, and iWork.com has great potential. 79 dollars, 49 with a new mac, and 169 with iLife and Leopard are very reasonable prices.

6. Tony Bennett. How amazing that Apple can get such fantastic artists at keynote events. Tony Bennett is a living music legend.

The Bad

1. No Mac Mini, iMac, Mac Pro, Cinema Display, Apple Server, Apple TV, Snow Leopard, or new hardware whatsoever. I understand it was a Mac only event, and frankly I think that’s excellent. But the fact that the only worthwhile announcement was a yearly upgraded software bundle was kind of a letdown.

2. 17 Inch MacBook Pro. I’m not calling the product bad… in fact the opposite. I love this computer. However, I along with many others sprung for a new laptop at the October Event because we thought the lineup wouldn’t get updated in a while. Two months later, Apple announces the product I actually wanted. There is no reason this laptop shouldn’t have been announced at the October Event. Even if they couldn’t ship it, they should’ve announced the product with a January ship date. Forget a measly 200 dollar price drop… Apple really screwed early adopters this time.

3. The 10 year old kid’s acting in the iMovie 09 demo. Watch the keynote and you’ll agree with me.

4. No other executives. Considering Jobs wasn’t there, I thought that other executives like Scott Forstall, Johnny Ives, and Tim Cook should’ve been given a shot to present. I’m not harping on Phil Schiller at all… I thought he was fantastic. Unless the other VPs get a chance to do a keynote solo in the near future, I think that only allowing Schiller to speak was a mistake.

The Ugly

1. The one more thing. Not only was this an extremely underwhelming one more thing (the final announcement at any Macworld), but it wasn’t even something positive. What we got is word from Apple that the traditional, beloved .99 cent track model for all songs was going by the wayside in favor of three tier pricing. Essentially this means that the good new songs will be 1.29, and the songs no one really wants will be .69 cents. While DRM is going away as well, they should have kept it the way it was… Amazon could work that deal out, why couldn’t iTunes? Apple also made the mistake of acting like paying the same price for downloads over 3G was a big deal. While I know that Apple spent plenty of time fighting the record companies and AT&T in order to achieve this, the fact is this is what people expected. It is not breakthrough of any kind. In Apple’s eyes it was, because they put a lot of effort into making it happen, but they made the rare mistake of not viewing it from the consumer’s eyes. The last One More Thing might have quite possibly been the worst in the History of Macworld. I guess the saying “Save the best for last” isn’t that important in Apple’s eyes…

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Overall, while the keynote may have been viewed as a disappointment to some, I found that there were definitely some gold nuggets buried within the dirt. Phil Schiller was awesome and iLife+iWork were great as well. Even though this last Macworld was tainted in part to high expectations, and disappointment over the one more thing, I feel that it was an okay end to the trade show that helped bring Apple back to the top of the tech world.

I just downloaded the iWork 09 Trial off of Apple.com, and have played with iWork.com. Overall I find it to be elegant and useful, although the lack of iWork users is a significant hurdle. Hopefully more people adopt iWork instead of Microsoft Office, as it is a real steal at 49 dollars.

Macworld is tomorrow, and Mac Soda will be covering it live! Check back on this page throughout today and tomorrow as we update it with the latest news, comments, and more. And, as a full disclosure, It will be extremely opinionated! If that’s what you’re looking for, you need to be looking here tomorrow!

To help us cover the event tomorrow, Dr. Macenstein, of Macenstein.com will be joining us. Get ready for some seriously opinionated liveblogging!

New this event! We are using the award-winning Cover It Live! to blog! Ask questions, take polls, all from one convenient pane! I guarantee you will love it!

Click Here to Read the Blog

Yesterday we posted wild speculation about why Steve isn’t giving the keynote. Steve Jobs set us straight this morning.

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause – a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

Personally, I found the letter to be extremely smug. He obviously is pissed off about having to disclose his health problems, but he needs to realize that since he is worth so much to Apple, he has no choice but to disclose his health problems. I’m glad he finally set the record straight though, because now we can all enjoy Macworld tomorrow.

By the way, I love how he called Macworld a “show”….

Maybe not President, but close...

When Apple announced that Steve Jobs wouldn’t be giving the Macworld Keynote, the blogosphere went into a frenzy. Although there was some debate, the common consensus at the end of all the pandemonium was that Steve Jobs was on his way to the grave. My thinking was in that camp for a while, but then as I was watching the news I thought of an interesting possibility… what if Steve Jobs isn’t stepping down due to his illness, but because he wants to take another job? You might say, “Steve would never take any job over Apple… he loves the company! Why would he leave for another company?”, but my answer would be that he’s not leaving for another company, but rather for our government… as Obama’s new Chief Technology Officer.

Before you call me insane, hear me out. Barack Obama needs someone who is ahead of the times, a visionary who could guide our technological decisions in the best way possible. Steve Jobs has proved time and time again that he knows what technology should be like, and that his vision of the future is essentially always correct when it comes to this field. He would be perfect for the position, because frankly, no one is as much of a genius as he is in this regard.

Another fact supporting my claim: Obama has announced every other member of his cabinet except for Chief Technology Advisor. Is this because he hasn’t made up his mind yet? I doubt it. He must have been thinking about this for a long time, considering it was his idea to create this position. A more likely scenario is that his choice, Steve Jobs, doesn’t want him to announce it. I can just picture Steve telling Obama that the only way he will take the job is if he can announce it at Macworld himself. This would explain why the announcement hasn’t been made, and all the others have been. Steve also is a strong democrat, and is really good friends with Al Gore. Perhaps Al Gore, Steve, and Obama himself will all show up at MacWorld to make this announcement, whether it be in person or via iChat. Talk about a one more thing!

Is this rampant speculation? Of course. Is it likely to happen? Probably not. But it definitely is a possibility. And if it does pan out, remember… you heard it here first!

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