iPhone changes viewing habits

I don’t think I really began to understand how revolutionary the iPhone, iPod Touch, and yesterday’s iPod video really are until the past two weeks. I was eating lunch with Taylor, and he began to show off all the video podcasts that he’d put on his iPhone.

Now, I have subscriptions to several church podcasts and a few others, but I had never really paid any attention to video podcasts. I was quite pleasantly surprised to discover that every major news network produced a daily video podcast. As I began searching the web and iTunes, I began to discover other video podcasts and within an hour, I had clicked “Subscribe” to about 20 different feeds.

Since then, I find myself watching the ABC Nightly News… when I want to. Usually it’s when I’m lying down to go to sleep. It’s nice to put the earphones on, catch up with the day, and even to pray for leaders, situations, and world events as I quiet my mind and heart.

I have also begun putting the TV shows that I follow (Smallville, Heroes, etc.) on my iPhone to watch the episodes that I’ve missed. Combine that with other video podcasts from churches, technology sites, etc., and I have a wealth of information in my palm that defies my ability to take it all in.

Since my subscription spree the other day, I’ve been paring down the amount of podcasts that I subscribe to, simply for the sake of time; however, I’m confident that my viewing habits have been radically changed. I used to not enjoy watching anything (movies, favorite shows) unless I could do so with my surround sound (no, I don’t have a plasma, LCD or big screen – still just a Sanyo 27″ analog tube). However, with my iPhone and ear buds, I have found that my audiovisual experience does not really suffer in the least. It’s startling to realize the crisp clarity of the iPhone screen and the sound that you can enjoy with ear buds.

Once in the morning, I’ll tell iTunes to refresh my podcasts so that it will catch the newest video podcast of Good Morning America, and then in the evening, I update my podcasts again so that I have the newest evening news episode.

Update: Another thing that has proved to be wonderful and could be done with any other phone these days is the strategic use of Twitter and Flickr. I use Twitter regularly to encourage, have fun, and simply update folks on my whereabouts, thoughts, and activities. It’s posted instantly on my WordPress blog thanks to the Simple Twitter plugin. In addition, I use the email address Flickr provides for my account and send pictures that I’ve taken with my iPhone. I’ve set them to automatically be tagged so that they appear on my picture stream on my blog as well (using FlickrRSS plugin).

I’m curious for the rest of you tech geeks out there… how have you found portable media players such as the iPod changing your media and viewing habits?

USA Today’s Candidate Match Game

I played the Candidate Match Game at USA Today’s site, as recommended by a friend, and I wasn’t surprised at the results… Mike Huckabee. I particularly like his ideas about national tax reform. Who are you interested in currently and why? 

iPhone hacking

The ability to hack your iPhone and add other programs other than what Apple “officially” supplies (sounds very Gates-ian, doesn’t it?) had been widely touted and covered. What is not covered so well is the amazing possibilities with these iPhones… Consider what hacker has done recently… created a Gameboy Emulator for the iPhone.

Check out the story here. The controls are actually on the screen of the iPhone! Kewl!

New Mac commercials…

You can see the rest here…
Which is your favorite?

K.I.T. vs. Yojimbo

I was trying to catch up on some podcasts today and was listening to Neat Little Mac App’s review of K.I.T. (Keep It Together). One cool thing about NLMA’s podcast is that while not quite a vidcast, they do use occasional screen shots of the program they’re reviewing so you can see what they’re talking about.

Then I visited and saw his advertisement for Yojimbo which seems to promise the same thing.

I downloaded both software packages – Yojimbo ($39) has a 30-day trial, K.I.T. ($24.95) only a 15-day. So, for the next 15 days, I’ll attempt to review both packages. On the outset, they look nearly identical, as you can tell by the screenshot below.

Got any great Mac software that you use consistently that we need to know about?

Twitter Blocks

Talk about a definite time waster… but soooo fascinating. If you have a Twitter account (and if you don’t, why not?!), check out Twitter Blocks. It graphically shows who is following your updates and who is following theirs, and so on…

Tips for bringing more readers to your blog

Dan Zak, a columnist for the Washington Post has a great article for all of us – both pro and beginning bloggers. He lists 10 things that we can do to “be more than a blip in the blogosphere.” Swing by and read his full article. Here are the ten summarized:

1. TELL STORIES RATHER THAN STICKING SOLELY TO LINKS OR PHOTOS.
2. CREATE A VOICE FOR YOURSELF.
3. MAKE EVERYTHING EASY TO READ AND ACCESS. 
4. SIFT THROUGH BLOGROLLS AND CREATE YOUR OWN. 
5. WIDGET YOUR PAGE. 
6. COMMENT EARLY AND OFTEN.
7. PRAY FOR A LINK FROM THE BIG BOYS.
8. NOMINATE YOURSELF FOR AWARDS. 
9. POST WITH VERVE AND CONSISTENCY.
10. JOIN THE CROWD. 

Articles like this interest me because I unashamedly want more readers – both people I know and people I don’t know. More readers = more influence. If I have more influence, then people will eventually hear from me what is singularly most important in my life (and I believe, theirs too) – that a love relationship with the God of Creation through faith in Jesus Christ is of paramount and eternal significance. I’m not even concerned that they agree with me. I just hope readers keep returning, that there’s “something” here are Notes that draws them back again and again.   So… how about you? Do you care if your blog is read by more and more people? Or do you prefer its readership to be kept within a select group of family and friends? Are you uncomfortable receiving feedback from people you don’t know? Or perhaps criticism about things that are important to you? 

NBC vs. Apple

NBC seems to be coming off as the biggest media whiner around.

First, they pull their shows from the iTunes music service. Most assume this is because Apple’s wildly successful media content delivery service is trumping everyone else’s. NBC just couldn’t stomach the fact that Apple was making some money off their stuff (of course, NBC was too, but just not enough, in their viewpoint). So NBC takes its toys and goes home.

Now, NBC executive Jeff Zucker is claiming that Apple is responsible for “destroying music pricing.” Sounds to me like he’s trying to drag others into his pout-fest about Apple’s success. It’s an age-old trick… I’m not happy with the way things are going, so I’ll try to make others unhappy too.

I don’t know of many consumers who are angry with Apple for forcing the music industry to start thinking competitively. C’mon, who really wants to pay $16.98 for a CD at Wal-Mart when you can get it for $9.99 through iTunes. So the traditional music and media moguls are only making tens of billions instead of hundreds of billions of dollars now. Waaaaah.

One caveat… there’s a bunch of folks that are not thrilled with Apple’s heavy-handed techniques of negotiation. I, for one, am still a little miffed about how Apple initially treated its music and media content. Why should I not be able to put a CD that I’ve bought on the iTunes store on my PSP? I know that there are work-arounds, but Apple was a little archaic in its approach. Perhaps that was one area that they locked down to appease the music folks? Who knows?

Another arena of Apple’s misguided methodology has been its approach to the iPhone and third-party software. Their “fear” of viruses and talk of the potential of harming the cellular network must have been authored and propogated by the same guys that frothed up the Western Hemishpere over Y2K.

At the day’s end, however, it’s not NBC that is known for innovation, technological breakthroughs, and customer satisfaction, however. It’s Apple. I am NOT pleased that I can’t easily get an episode of Heroes onto my iPhone or iPods. I don’t think millions of other media users are either. NBC and Zucker are coming off sounding like kids pitching temper tantrums. And it’s only hurting themselves.

Apple’s amazing customer service

It’s a known and documented fact that Apple’s customer service continues to outstrip and distance itself from any other computer maker or technology company. Consumer Reports consistently ranks Apple as #1 in customer care.

I’ve had moy own experiences with its radical approach to taking care of its folks. Of course, I know there are folks out there who have had bad experiences; I’m just not one of them. Apple has made good – and oftimes, more than good – on every problem I’ve encountered.

Here are three examples:

1. I purchased Applecare on my iMac 20″ Intel Core Duo and about 11 months after I had the unit (I bought it used off of Ebay), the DVD drive starting acting funny. It would burn inconsistently and give me error messages. So, I did what every Apple-loving person in his right mind would do… 1-800-SOS-APPLE. Yep, that’s the real number.
   After a quick diagnostic series of tests, the tech on the phone announced it was hardware related. “I see you have Applecare on this unit. Where is the closest Apple Store or licensed repair center?” I told him Little Rock and that it was an hour and a half drive. “I see… Well, let’s schedule a technician’s visit….” After a long pause, he said, “Is tomorrow at 2:00 ok?”
   Literally, I had a repair guy come to my house here in rural South Arkansas and replace my DVD drive in less than 15 minutes the next day!
2. My iPhone wouldn’t get loud enough. I called Apple and said I was having troubles hearing it. They asked if I’d turned up the volume… After being slightly peeved about that question, I said that of course, I knew where the volume was. After a few more questions, they said, “We’ll have you a replacement unit in the mail today. You should get it tomorrow.” I shipped my iPhone back in teh provided box and got it back the same week – all the while being able to use a replacement phone (which because of Apple’s sync technology became “my phone” simply by plugging it in: my photos, contacts, calendars… all synced effortlessly to the new phone).
   Incidentally, I got a note back with my phone saying that nothing could be found wrong with the phone. In consternation, I did a quick Google search about iPhone volume only to discover that I had accidentally enabled “Volume Limit” in my Settings! Doh! As soon as I raised the Volume Limit (presumably put there so that idiots won’t blow out their eardrums), I could make the iPhone as loud as I wanted…
   Chalk this  great experience of Apple’s CS up to to “idiot user syndrome.”
3. Finally, just today, I called to see where my iPhone case was. I had ordered it two weeks ago, and the last time I checked, it was supposed to have arrived last week. When today’s mail came and still no case, I called Apple. I was surprised to learn that the order had been cancelled… something about the manufacturer. However, I was never notified. Apple’s solution? They graciously offered – even without a complaint – to overnight me a comparable case, free of charge!

You go, Apple!

Did you Remember the Milk?

It’s fast becoming one of the most popular productivity-enhancement websites out there. After reading this article at Engadget, I thought I’d open up an account and give it a try… I’ll let you know in a few weeks what I think…

Online calendars

I get asked frequently how I incorporate calendars and event lists into some of the websites that I design. It’s really pretty simple after you’ve worked through the process once. I use CalendarHub for event lists (it’s free!), I was using Trumba for MonticelloLive’s community calendar (a paid service, but full of features). Recently, I’ve been using Airset for several projects, especially for coordinating a calendar with lots of folks. It works great for church use, but its learning curve for the casual user is steep. It’s not very intuitive (aka, very un-Maclike).

Here’s an excellent article on dozens of other online calendar options out there.

Here’s an article related to this that I wrote a while back.

America’s loser population is shrinking…

Word out on the street is that Apple’s market share is growing steadily! Recent estimates put Mac users at 8.1% (or is it 6.3%?). That means that the number of loser-PC-users is steadily shrinking! Hooray!!!

Third party apps for the iPhone a’comin…

Hang on, says Steve Jobs, until February of next year for fully supported apps for the iPhone… Apparently Apple has heard and is trying to respond to the ire and frustration of iPhone users everywhere. But why February? The possibilities and capability is here NOW.

Rotating banners for WordPress

Many thanks to Vlad for an easy, quick way to create rotating banners for WordPress!

Challies’ October Giveaway

Tim has announced his October Giveaway, and it’s significant! Make sure to stop by there and register for the giveaway, and mention referral ID #21599!

YouVersion

Check out my tumblog entry about YouVersion. You can reach my tumblog by clicking on the Tumblr graphic in the far right column.

The Coffee Bean

Just got an email forward about the reopening of Dad’s Place under new owners: Richard and Vonda Russell! Needless to say, I’m excited about getting my other morning office back! I want to encourage all local readers to stop by and let them know you’re glad they’re opening up!

Here’s the text of the email forward:

…purchased the coffee business formerly known as Dad’s Place.  Our new name is ‘The Coffee Bean’.  We will be in the same location of 123 Carla Lane, Ste A here in Monticello which is behind Waff-L-Inn and beside The Phone Company.

Richard will manage the store during the day and I will help him at night and on weekends.

We will serve Lattes, Cappuccinos, Mochas, Frappaccinos, Mud Slides (made w/ice cream), Shakes, Snow Cream, Iced Lattes, Chai Tea, Coffee Cakes, Cheese Cakes, Pound Cakes, and Sodas.  We will incorporate soup and sandwiches for lunch from 11 a – 2 p within the first two months along with deliveries to specified locations.  Within the next year, we will add a drive through.

We open October 15th @ 6 a.m.

Our hours of operation are Monday – Saturday 6 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Be sure to pick up one of our discount cards.  When you purchase eight drinks you get the next drink free.

All UAM students and Senior Citizens will receive a 10% discount.

Help us spread the word!

We would appreciate your support and most importantly, your prayers!

We will dedicate the business to the Lord this coming Sunday.  I look forward to all the Lord has in store for us as we enter into this endeavor.

Facebooksync for Mac Address Book

I stumbled across a nifty utility today called Facebooksync. Essentially, it syncs your contacts in Facebook with your Mac Address Book. Very cool.  It even puts your contacts profile pictures from Facebook into their profile on Address Book.

After you download it and open the application, you’ll need to login to Facebook to give it permission to use your Facebook account. Then in the Facebooksync window, you will want to click on each box in the top right: Missing Info, Missing Photo, Missing Record.

Click “OK.”

You’ll need to quit Address Book if it’s open and relaunch it.

You should see all your contacts updated now with the information that they have supplied through Facebook.

Faith in football

Many of you know I’m an avid fantasy footballer. I won’t dwell here on the fact that both of my kids now have teams (and better records than I) in one of my leagues.

I stumbled across this great ESPN article which highlights Christian faith in the NFL as it focuses on Detroit Lions (currently 3-1) quarterback Jon Kitna. It’s a great read and highly encouraging.

Apple’s slippery slope

This may come as a shock to many of you who know me.

I think Apple has, so far, royally screwed up in relationship to its iPhone stance.

I’ve been using Macs for a loong time – since 1988, and the iPhone is beginning to look a lot like some of the major “sull up and pout” antics of 1990s-era Apple, Inc. Yes, they have released a truly innovative product into the market. Yes, everyone is still in awe by it. However, that was yesterday, and technological honeymoons are notoriously short.

Apple is now beginning to receive the ire and outrage of thousands of customers and would-be customers for its refusal to “open up” the iPhone. For example, on my Treo 650, I could install hundreds of applications and customizations, thus creating a user interface and experience that was just for me. Not so with the iPhone. You take what Apple gives you and no more.

If you haven’t been following the growing dissent with the iPhone, this Apple Insider article is a great place to start. Nokia has even capitalized on the public frustration with Apple by launching a campaign with the slogo “The best devices have no limits.”

One of my personal experiences of frustration is with putting my own personalized ringtones on the iPhone. Every cell phone allows you to do that these days. To think that initially, the iPhone didn’t have that capability was ridiculous. However, the cool factor made you overlook it – for a week or so. Once the coolness wore off, I just wanted to be able to customize my iPhone to make it more “me.”

Unfortunately, Apple says I can’t.

While I was able to use Ambrosia’s iToner to flawlessly put my own ringtones on the iPhone, every successive update of iTunes wipes off those added ringtones, and now with the latest iPhone firmware update (1.1.1), iToner no longer works with the iPhone (their site says they are working quickly on a solution to it).

However, what is Apple doing?

Sulling up and pouting – that’s what. I can only imagine by their response that they are coldly complacent to the growing frustration and whining about why folks have quit singing their praises so soon. Here’s a message, Apple, it’s not just the hardware that’s cool… it’s interactivity. That’s what we all want. That’s why blogs are huge. That’s where everything is going.

I didn’t want a $500 technological brick that only does what you want it to. I want the ability to improve upon your offerings. Isn’t that what’s made Apple & Mac great?

So, please, get your grubby hands off my iPhone! I still love it, but I want to be able to do more with it – and I know it’s possible! In today’s technological wonderland, third-party developers and geniuses are what make everyone better. Embrace them rather than evade them.