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By Greg, August 17, 2010 7:17 pm

Well… It’s been a few weeks since I moved on from iPhone, so I guess I should provide a little update as to how things are… progressing?

You might have seen the multiple updates to my previous post, in which I complained heartily regarding the poor media management capabilities of Android (and to all those “what can be easier than drag-and-drop?” fans out there… drag-and -drop sucks. There, I said it). You might have been disheartened by this, and thought that, well, maybe Android wasn’t as good as ‘they’ were making it out to be. Don’t be that way. I found a solution – a solution that DOESN’T involve playlists. Yep – Windows Media Player.

Continue reading 'Adroid vs iPhone follow-up'»

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By Greg, August 4, 2010 8:42 pm

Quick plug on behalf of my dad. He loves writing, and has written a few books over the years. While he works on getting his sci-fi novel published in some form, he’s worked out how to sell books online via Amazon’s Kindle store. So please, if you have an eBook reader that can access the Kindle store (i.e., a Kindle, or an iPhone/Android/PC with Kindle app), please help him out by buying his book. It’s reasonably priced, available now, and will hopefully make you happy. At least until his next book is released (image is link to purchase).

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By Greg, August 4, 2010 7:27 pm

Apple. for such an innocent word, it can be so divisive. The fanboys are extremely defensive of the company, almost to the extent that it’s like there’s an underlying belief that they can do no wrong, while the haters are the polar opposite – nothing that Apple says or does seems to have any element of truth to it. It’s amazing, really, that each ‘group’ is so extreme in their appraisal of Apple as a whole that there’s almost little variance. You either love them, hate them, or have little to no opinion… It’s so strange. (But hey, let’s be clear – I’m SURE there are people out there that don’t fit into my highly scientific and demonstrable definitions… This is just an generalised observation.)

And me? I guess at various stages I have fit into all of the above. At first, I hated Apple products and the hipsters that bought them. I had no interest in Macs or iPods. Then, in the early to mid-2000s when I decided I needed an MP3 player, I was convinced to get myself a 60GB iPod simply based on the fact that, at the time, there was no real competition. But while I loved my iPod, I wasn’t converted to ‘the club’ (or the cult, as some might prefer). I still hated Macs, and had nothing more than a passing interest in the iPhone when it was released.

And then I got one (a story in itself), and I was hooked. I also ended up getting myself an iPad recently – but I still have no interest in Macs (which is my personal beef – it’s not that I hate Macs, I just don’t want one).

Don’t get me wrong – I still believe that iPhone does certain things SO MUCH better than all other phones on the market. There is a reason the phone became so popular, and that’s because it really is a damn good phone. However, I found myself vehemently defending the phone to haters – even defending the obvious problems and omissions. Arguments such as “I just don’t NEED it” are common amongst iPhone users (fanboys?) – but how true is that statement, or is it just that iPhone is so easy to use, and Apple’s marketing is so pervasive, that you are almost brainwashed to feel this way?

Then came Android. Sure, it’s been around for a while, but Google is really making up on some lost ground now. Many tech nerds swear by Android, and most Apple haters do too (coincidence? probably not). But how can something really compare favourably to my wonderful iPhone?

So I decided to break out of my iMould and get myself an Android – in this case, a Samsung Galaxy S. My intention was to see whether iPhone really WAS so much better than the competition, to gauge whether or not I was simply a product of Apple’s marketing, and to see if the switch to Android was worth my time (and let’s face it – money). I did it so you don’t have to.

Continue reading 'How and why I switched from iPhone to Android… and is it a good idea? [UPDATED]'»

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By Greg, July 11, 2010 5:56 pm

Xbox 360 owners should all be aware of the awesomeness that is the Xbox Achievements system. Microsoft managed to add a passive and competitive function to video gaming and, to steal a phrase from Apple, it just works – mainly as a result of seamless integration and its simple, speedy functionality. Comparing yourself against your mates is quick and easy – the bigger number wins – and the little flash up on screen to tell you that you’ve earned a new achievement is not too annoying, particularly because you immediately know how much this will affect your score. It just adds an overall sense of satisfaction to whatever awesome thing it is that you have just performed… In some cases, you might not have even realised you did something awesome – thanks Microsoft.

Sony, of course, has their own version of achievements, released some time after Microsoft debuted them on Xbox… They refer to them as PlayStation Trophies. At its most basic, the idea is sound – trophies of varying levels (bronze, silver, gold and platinum) are awarded for certain gaming events. Each trophy is worth a certain amount of points (based on the level of trophy), and after a certain amount of these points, you “level up”. It seems simple enough, and it’s not too far removed from the idea behind Xbox achievements… But why do I care so little when I score myself a trophy? Let’s investigation!

Continue reading 'Trophies could be more fun'»

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By Greg, June 28, 2010 7:20 pm

It’s funny when you think about it. To date, 3D has always been a gimmick. A joke perpetuated by crappy theme park cinemas and their "3D extravaganzas". The funky red-and-blue glasses that come with the TV guide every couple of years or so in an attempt to drive sales.

The experience has always been poor. Unclear. Blurry. Lacking colour. Simply a money-making tool by way of being "different" and often targeted at kids.

And then suddenly – very much out of the blue – TV manufacturers started saying that the next generation of TVs would be 3D-capable. Every second movie claimed to be "in glorious 3D". Some were good; others, very bad.

Immediately, the people did cry out, and the response was to be expected. “Why? It’s just a gimmick – who would want a 3D TV anyway?” My own post a few months back said much the same – and it was all based on previous experience. But I think I’ve changed my mind… again.

Continue reading '3D cometh'»

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By Greg, June 17, 2010 7:34 pm

Also at E3, Sony announced a new Playstation Network scheme – a paid program separate to (or at least integrated within) the existing network. They’re calling this Playstation Plus. Essentially, the Playstation Network as it is will remain, so they are not suddenly charging for something that has been free to date. They are charging for, well… icing on the cake, basically.

Continue reading 'Playstation… Plus? [UPDATED]'»

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By Greg, June 17, 2010 7:24 pm

They pretend it wasn’t, but this year’s E3 was all about hardware. Microsoft presented Kinect, Sony demonstrated Move, and Nintendo announced their 3DS. Each, in their own way, claimed that the hardware was secondary to the software, yet still allowed a great deal of time discussing the hardware in their presentations. This is not a bad thing – without hardware, we wouldn’t have software. And really, Nintendo said it best – regardless of the hardware, the base experience matters most, and this is entirely dependent on how well the software is designed to be used with the hardware. It’s nice to see someone wasn’t just having a go at everyone else’s tech (looking at you, Sony – but I have to admit you made me laugh). So what was presented?

Continue reading 'E3 2010 impressions: Hardware'»

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By Greg, June 5, 2010 4:53 pm

With the dawn of the tablet age upon us (I really hope SOMEONE coins a better name than “tablet”), which will hopefully result in some kind of digital boom, magazine companies are scrambling to keep their feet in a dying industry. And who’s to blame them? The Internet contains all the same information that can be found in their pages, and all for free… While there will always be a market for physical books and magazines, the market is shrinking in favour of digital distribution. As a result, magazine publishers need to do something more drastic than deep and well-written feature articles in order to win back readers… Thus – the future (it seems) is in digital magazines…

Following the release of iPad, a number of publishers have released magazines to the market – some critics consider them a little expensive compared to their physical counterparts, but overall it’s not that bad (for Aussies at least, where Wired mag usually costs $15/month). Subscription methods have been announced, but are yet to be released; however, the magazines themselves are promising. It’s WAY too early to make a call for the greatest digital mag ever, but I thought I’d grab a few, and do a little write-up on what’s good, and what’s bad – even though it’s still early in the game. Hopefully someone will read my post and refine their mag.

Continue reading 'Early look at digital magazines'»

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By Greg, May 31, 2010 8:24 pm

I’m weak. I gave in. I was entirely sucked in to the hype, and I ended up in an Apple store on Saturday. I’m not a Mac fan by any stretch of the imagination – Apple’s arrogance and hatred of their competition has angried up the blood in times past – and while I do love my iPhone, I did mention that I would wait for a second or third generation before I forked out the cash for an iPad.

And yet here we are. iPad has been out for all of four days, and I have one easing about in my possession. What the…? How could I change my mind so suddenly? Those that know me well will be laughing to themselves as they prepare to call me a knob (and I’m bracing for backlash). But in defense of my predictability - it really all comes down to my initial experience at the Apple store. Continue reading 'Weak and powerless – I become Apple’s bitch'»

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By Greg, May 10, 2010 8:46 pm

In my youth, I was a big fan of comic books. I used to take a monthly trip into the city (not that I lived in the country or anything, I just didn’t like the city – and let’s face it… there are no local comic book stores in Melbourne – they’re all in the city) to buy a bunch of books. Over a period of about two years, I collected a good 200 books – and I still have all of them locked away in a closet somewhere… Some of them are prized possessions, others are just wasting space…

As I got older, though, I stopped reading – for whatever reason. I guess I was too cool for comics. Now, I have realised the error of my ways, and am getting back into it, but I’m totally not interested in collecting physical books – I’m all for digital. In fact, I’m all for digital EVERYTHING, not just comics. My music collection has been ripped in full to MP3 (that was a trial, let me tell you), many of my DVDs have been ripped to a HDD, and I’m a big fan of downloadable video games. I can not wait for everything to go digital, to be honest (although I do understand concerns around bandwidth, etc.).

Anyway – now that I’m back into comics, I’ve been looking into digital comics. Given that I am a bit of a geek, I’ve also looked over a few forums on the topic, and I often see the same phrase repeated over and over – that is, that "the digital ship has sailed". That is to say that the current market leaders in this space have won the market in full. And you know what? I couldn’t disagree more. In fact, I’m fairly unimpressed by what’s available so far – it’s obviously still in an embryonic stage, although there seem to be a lot of fans of the existing options… Which are really limiting. Let me explain.

Continue reading 'I want digital comics… but I want it done well'»