This deserves posting about if only for the sake of history, but the fact that it took Microsoft a $6.2bn write off from a failed venture to make a first ever quarterly loss of (only) $492m is not that worrying. If anything it shows just how much money they are making, surely?
Having had the opportunity to try out Apple’s podcast app over the last few weeks the experience is a bit of a mixed bag.
There are certainly performance problems, with a very annoying UI lock on first load where, I suspect, network activity is blocking the main thread, and I’ve also had duplicate episodes appearing with no way of removing them except for deleting the whole subscription. On top of that the UI on the whole performs poorly compared to other Apple apps, especially button presses and the 30 second skip/10 second rewind. On an iPhone 4 I just wouldn’t have expected this.
Having said that, I adore the tape deck skeuomorphic design. I’ve listened to podcasts watching the tape deck and have been hypnotised by the tape movement, transported back 20 years. I love that podcasts themselves have their own app, somewhere away from your music collection that never felt quite right. When the 30s skip responds like it should, it’s a nifty little feature that provides just the right amount of functionality without overloading the interface.
And yet… and yet… the app is not the quality you’d expect (nay, we demand!) from Apple and this is worrying. Sure you can argue that the performance issues can be resolved in a future update, but that isn’t Apple and the fact the app shipped at all surprises me.
I have a confession though, despite my concerns and frustrations, I’m only using the Podcast app for my podcast listening needs.
Pop culture is all about identity and feeling like you’re participating. It has nothing to do with cooperation, the past or the future — it’s living in the present.
— Alan Kay
Source: drdobbs.com
With the recent rumours of a 7” iPad, I’ve been thinking if such a device was shipped by Apple, would they classify it as a 7” tablet? The size being quoted is 7.85”, closer to 8 than 7. And it’s not like the current 9.7” iPad is classified as a 9” tablet.
John Gruber has already made this point.
For one thing, the rumored device has a very specific screen size: 7.85 inches diagonally, 1024 × 768 pixels. That’s far closer to 8 inches than 7. In fact, it’s closer to 8 inches than the 9.7-inch iPad-as-we-know-it is to 10 inches — so if you want to round to the nearest integer, it would be more accurate to call it an 8-inch iPad than a 7-inch one.
And John Siracusa briefly touches on it in Hypercritical episode 75 (32:40)
7.85” is much closer to 8”, doesn’t it sound like the 8” iPad?
To me this seems more likely than being classed in the same bracket as the other 7” tablets.
Of course I’m making two massive assumptions. That Apple decide to release and iPad mini and that the screen size is 7.85”. If there is one thing that Apple has consistently shown, it’s that they do their own thing, and more often than not it’s not what the crowd are thinking.
Finally!
No seriously, actually very glad about this. The only reason for syncing to iTunes was to sync podcasts.
No more!
Through my short and second hand knowledge of Microsoft’s entry into the tablet market, I thought I’d share some thoughts I had.
There’s something about Surface that makes it stand out from the crowd already, and assuming that Microsoft can actually deliver (and at a reasonable price) the future is beginning to look a little brighter for them.
Looking forward to Mountain Lion and iOS6.
The new 15” retina MacBook Pro looks amazing. Expensive. But amazing.
Jason Snell writes:
Apple has packed almost everything involving media (and app) management, purchase, and playback into this single app. It’s bursting at the seams. It’s a complete mess. And it’s time for an overhaul.
This article is old but with WWDC just round the corner I wonder if Apple is about to address this. Personally I have no problem with iTunes but would welcome any improvements, especially greater iCloud integration.
Microsoft’s decision risked “limiting the availability and diversity of internet content and services for consumers,” said the Digital Advertising Alliance.
Comment at the end of BBC News article on Microsoft’s decision to enable Do Not Track in the latest preview release of Windows 8. This is a good thing for consumers.
