Feb
13
2012
I have over 100 iOS apps in three different devices, an iPod running running iOS 4.2, and an iPhone and iPad on iOS 5. As much as possible, I always sync all devices to my laptop so that they all have the latest updates. I know that since iOS 5, apps and songs purchased from iTunes on one device will automatically sync to other devices. That said I still find that I have sync for other reasons, to transfer photos to iPhoto and sync a large number of podcasts I listen to. And perhaps, most importantly, I’ve sync to charge my device. One issue, definitely first world problem, I have with having multiple iOS devices is managing all the apps in the different devices. If I delete on app from the iPad, it doesn’t delete it from the iPhone. If I delete it from the iTunes on my laptop and I sync with a device that contains that app, it will copy it back to iTunes.
Another big issue is that you have to configure your app pages and folders on each device. If you spend an hour organizing your apps into folders and pages in one device you have to re-do it all over again on the second device. What ends up happening is that you’ll have two devices with the same apps in different pages and folders.
What I am missing from my mobile experience is the ability to sync, not only the apps and content of apps, but the meta-data about how I organize apps between iOS devices. I want to have the choice to clone how one iOS device organizes and layouts the apps to other devices. I would also like the ability to have different app layout settings, such as have the iOS device automatically put applications into folders based on the app category or my usage of the app. And of course, I would like to have a way to delete an app from one device and have it disappear from all other devices.
1 comment | tags: app, appstore, ios, ipad, iphone, management, mobile | posted in Gadgets, Rant, Tools
Jan
2
2012
From time to time I just blast tweets about software development, project planning, team dynamics, or whatever else comes to mind. Here is a synopsis of recent tweets and rants. If you want to follow the conversation follow me at techknow and/or juixe.
Software Development
- Being into computers today is not the same as it was in my day when you had to solder chips into boards, now it means you are on Facebook.
- I don’t know why you would fake such a thing but there are a lot of fake self described geeks.
- This holiday season remember to backup if don’t already have a backup system in place.
Thought Leadership
- Life has a funny way to keep you humble.
- Focus on simplicity, complexity is overrated.
- Whether I see the glass half full or half empty largely depends on what is in the glass to begin with.
- To much of a good thing is a bad thing. Not enough of a good thing is also a bad thing.
- No brain, no gain.
- There is no such thing as cheap thrills, only cheap tricks.
Product Placement
- I just realized that I have five phone numbers connected to my iPhone.
- Not feeling the new Twitter app. It feels like it requires too many clicks to do anything.
- Every parking lot should be covered with an array of solar panels. Some parking lots take more area than the base of the building.
- I hate when sites and apps require Facebook Connect to sign up. #pinterest
- I bet that Taco Bell taco shells are made in China.
- Like a true politician, Go Daddy flip flopped on the issue and now claims it does not support SOPA. #WhoDroppedTheSOPA
- Google Grinch: No Ice Cream Sandwich for Galaxy S, first Galaxy Tab, or original Nexus.
- The one feature that had been overlooked in Android is the ability to take a screenshot of your Android device.
Quote
- I’m putting you on the do not kill list. – Bender Bending RodrÃŒguez
- The truth is often stupid. – Bender Bending RodrÃŒguez
- Follow the fucking money. When a VC tells you what’s good for you, check your wallet, then count your fingers. – jwz
- Let’s go and invent tomorrow. – Steve Jobs
Question
- Who moved my cheese and then cut said cheese?
- Who is doing some last minute shopping?
- How many domains do you own?
- Church’s or Popeyes?
- Ancient Aliens or Modern Morons?
- If you could go back in time and would be stuck in prehistoric time, what skill would you need most to survive?
- If Mr Grinch is so mean what do you think Mrs Grinch is like?
- If the world is flat why aren’t international phone rates flat themselves?
- A touch device is a complicated device with many components, what are the chances that the Galaxy Tab would look identical to the iPad?
Randumb
- Looking forward to the future!
- Old Internet memes don’t die, they go remixed, go viral, and trend.
- It’s rumored that the same maker that built a weight scale with a built it twitter client that tweets your weight is working on a toilet.
- Money can’t buy you love but it can sure buy some lap dances.
- When it comes to teenage love, forever doesn’t last long.
- The surprise is the prize.
- Empty space is the enemy of clutter.
- You are the chaos/cause of you.
- You are the cause of you because you.
- It is what it will be and it will be what has been.
- Happy whatever the fuck you celebrate tonight.
- The Internet was invented for the sharing of funny cat videos and pictures.
- Make a right at the 3rd dimension and you are here.
- The best part of nothing is everything.
- Negative ideas manifest into real feelings
- Gift wrapping ain’t going so merry.
- If there is a way to hurt yourself with a tape dispenser I’ve done it… Why is my lip bleeding!?
- I think that The Terminator is the beginning of a long war against the machines that culminates with The Matrix.
Overheard
- OH: Annoying people are really annoying.
- OH: I would love to enjoy my own depression if I only I didn’t have to deal with other people’s depression.
- OH: I wish my life was an 80’s movie.
- OH: To be honest, I’m not being honest.
no comments | tags: bender, china, facebook, go daddy, google, grinch, jobs, jwz, pinterest, popeyes, sopa, taco bell | posted in Programming, Rant, Social, TechKnow, Tools
Dec
2
2011
From time to time I just blast tweets about software development, project planning, team dynamics, or whatever else comes to mind. Here is a synopsis of recent tweets and rants. If you want to follow the conversation follow me at techknow and/or juixe.
Software Development
- Making good UI means making ugly choices.
- There was a time when having a computer made you a nerd. Today, people being “good on Facebook” does not make you a nerd.
- Love working with jQuery Mobile.
Thought Leadership
- Everyone has a vision, the difference is the scope, lens, and filter around the vision.
- Tomorrow is a fresh opportunity to be amazing and amazed.
- You ask stupid questions, you get stupid answers.
- I’m not on StackOverflow, so when people ask for my SO reputation I instead give them the the monthly referrals I get from SO.
Product Placement
- Sweet. Amazon just sent me a $5 credit because of a “technical issue on the Amazon.com website” that I am not even aware I encountered.
- Found my first handheld device… An HP iPaq RX3715 running Pocket PC 2003 Pro w/ Outlook 2002. It’s still in great condition!
- David Pogue wrote his review of the Kindle Fire, sounds like he wrote it from his iPad.
Overheard
- OH: Don’t they have Cliff Notes for the DMV driving manual?
- OH: Your brain cells are sexy!
- OH: Sometimes when you put things in the closet it doesn’t mean you have a clean house.
- OH: don’t do it but it you gonna do it make sure you get paid for doing it.
Thanksgiving
- I’m turkeyed-out. I had all major food groups and at least four different meat groups.
- McDonalds should have a McTurkey with McStuffing.
- Thanksgiving is the time to eat food you don’t like, I mean why do you only have it only for Thanksgiving?
- The holidays forces families to come together because everyone else is with their families.
- I dislike food holidays. Especially when everything is so good.
- Instead of counting sheep, I’ll be counting turkeys tonight.
- Gobble gobble gone.
no comments | tags: dmv, hp, ipaq, jquery, kindle, retweet, stackoverflow, thanksgiving, ui | posted in Programming, Rant, Social, TechKnow
Nov
28
2011
From time to time I just blast tweets about software development, project planning, team dynamics, or whatever else comes to mind. Here is a synopsis of recent tweets and rants. If you want to follow the conversation follow me at techknow and/or juixe.
Software Development
- To checkin or not to checkin a large changelist five minutes before you go home, that is the question?
- A test like a good movie, has three parts: the setup, the car chase, and the test of the results.
- Testing is like a tax, you have to pay 5-10% to have a good running infrastructure or system.
- Testing takes time, make sure you make the time, because it will save you time in the long run.
- All programmers have a black belt in hubris.
- One bytecode to rule them all.
Thought Leadership
- Your miles may vary, but it often depends on your attitude.
- Passion + Perseverance = Possibilities
- Sometimes you can’t afford to lose a client, but there are other times you can’t afford keep your client.
- Just like there should be no hard coded strings there should be no unwritten rules, or assumptions, or specifications.
- The dumbest people I’ve ever encountered are those that think that the rest of the 99.99% of people are a bunch of idiots.
- If you are unique no one can compete with you.
- Team meetings should not feel like an AA meeting, “Hi, I’m bob and I work here.”
Product Placement
- I’ve used the iPhone apps for Google Voice and G+ and I have to say, Google does not know how to make a good iOS app.
- I’m not liking the new Google Reader look. I would not be surprised if the next version of Google design has ribbons.
- Leave no smart phone behind. Google won’t upgrade the Nexus One to Android 4.0.
- Google is set to update its motto to “Do no evil if you ain’t getting paid for such evil.”
- Android is to Google what Internet Explorer was to Microsoft in the Browser Wars. MS gave IE for free just to take out Netscape.
- Siri is to Apple what Kinect is to XBox what Facebook Connect is to Facebook what Circles are to Google Plus…
- Every time I upgrade a MS product an angel loses his wings.
- Is Amazon also adopting social networking features? I just noticed that Amazon has a like button on its product pages.
- Facebook should update its mission “to trick people to over share and make the world more open, connected, and trackable.”
- Google should update its mission “to organize the world’s information about our users and make it accessible and useful to our advertisers.”
- @att has two options in terms of text messages. Pay as you use for $0.20 or unlimited for $20. What about a third option, disable texting altogether?
- Why does it cost half of the price of a stamp to send or receive a text? It’s endemic of an industry that has no competition or innovation.
- The Kindle Fire tablet is a modern day physical shopping cart for Amazon’s virtual online store.
- History is being made every day, yet @historychannel airs reruns of Ancient Alien.
Quotes
- OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW. – Steve Jobs’ Last Words
- I’m so embarrassed. I wish everybody else was dead. – Bender Bending Rodriguez
- Goodbye monobrains – Bender Bending Rodriguez
- There is no recession for great companies… – Jason Calacanis
- Software is like sex: it’s better when it’s free. – Linus Torvalds
- Coming together is the beginning; keeping together is a process; working together is success. – Henry Ford
- When all men think alike, no one thinks very much. – Walter Lippmann
Randumb
- On Monday mornings we are all zombies.
- Why am I listening to old school British punk rock? #GodSpankTheQueen
- The truth is that truth is absolutely relative.
- And then God said, “Let there be bacon,” and there was bacon. God saw that the bacon was delicious.
- You’re so vain, you probably think this tweet is about you.
- Fist pump for peace.
- Anybody that gets lost in a corn maze is an absolute moron.
- I hate Lifetime movies!
- Business is legitimate thievery.
- Some of the most common elements on earth idiotum and dumbtonium.
- meta-disrupt: Disrupt those disrupting disruption.
- I am, therefore I meme.
Thought Equations
- Meaning > money
- problem = opportunity
- means != ends
- Success > Perfection
- Experience != Information
- Thinking > Knowing
- Do > try
- Platform > product
- Creation > criticism
- Passion + Perseverance = Possibilities
Million Dollar Ideas
- Million Dollar Idea: Online Speed Dating Site
- Million dollar idea: a news channel with nothing but news tickers…
- Million Dollar Idea: self cleaning floors.
no comments | tags: apple, bender, bytecode, google, iphone, kinect, Programming, xbox | posted in Programming, Rant, Social, TechKnow
Nov
16
2011
I’ve joked before that Apple has more revenue sources than they do products. In addition to having great profit margins on hardware they also do well on the Apple iTunes music and app store. In addition to these, Apple brings millions with it’s developer program, with costs $99/year. Since Apple has been doing well with it’s traditional business and because Apple is so private about it’s business I feel business analysts have not had the spotlight on other aspects Apple’s finances, such as how they save millions of dollars a year on transaction fees.
Have you ever notice that when you buy a $0.99 song on the iTunes music store you may be charged two or three days later? I’ve noticed that when if I purchase a movie on a Friday and a song on a Saturday, I often don’t get charged until the following Sunday or Monday and when I do both items are charged together. How does this save Apple millions? Typically, when you have to process a customer’s credit card to charge for goods or services, the bank or merchant account that processes the credit card will charge around $0.20-0.30 per transaction and an additional percentage of the total cost after a certain amount. This is why some small business don’t accept credit cards for less than some amount, like $5-10 dollars. If you are processing credit cards for your digital goods online store, PayPal charges a transaction fee of $0.30 plus 2.9% of the total price.
I’ve positive that Apple has negotiated the transaction cost to less what a brink and mortar business would have to pay, but as an example let’s say they pay $.10 per transaction. If you buy a $0.99 song on iTunes Apple still has to pay a transaction fee for charging your card, in this case $0.10 or 10% of the total charged. If you buy two songs over a span of two days and Apple bills you for the both of the $0.99 songs together, Apple will still only pay the $0.10 transaction cost to process the credit card, or just 5% of the total price.
This is why when you purchase items from iTunes it maybe be several days before you are charged, because it is better for Apple to charge you for multiple items than to charge you for individual songs separately.
no comments | tags: apple, credit card, customer, merchant account, merchant fee, payment, paypal, transaction cost | posted in Rant, TechKnow, Tools