When I first heard about iCloud’s photostreaming feature I was really hoping that I’d finally have a much better workflow for my photos than being tied to my iPhoto library that was getting much too big for my little macbook air’s little SSD. Sure enough, once I got my macbook air, 27-inch iMac, iPhone and iPad all on iCloud photos taken on my iPhone started magically showing up on all the other devices, just like Apple had promised. Yay! I started imagining that, with all devices being synced, I could just choose the best place to edit and organize my collection and the results would flow across to all the other devices. Well, the images flowed okay.

I started with an image of a restaurant menu from a favorite sushi place using my iPhone’s HD setting, which meant that the iPhone produced two images automatically. Then once I had the images on my iPad I decided to rotate it so that the words were in proper orientation. I did it to both versions of the image. Okay. Now out of the four images I wanted to keep one and toss the other three, but there was no delete option for any of the four images hosted on the photostream. Um… yeah, not good.

Getting images effortlessly flowing from camera (phone) to any connected device is good, not being able to toss any image posted in the photostream is completely flawed. I come from the school where one might easily take 300 images to come up with three decent ones. Granted I’ve been know to post 100 of the 300 images on my flickr photostream but even then I’m deciding what images to post and which ones to toss. It just seemed inconceivable that one is forced to keep any image that gets on one’s iCloud photostream and the only way to pull one down is the pull all of them down (AKA disable photostream) or to wait for the undesired image to be the 1001st image. What?

Then, when I was experimenting with the iCloud photostream I made an event folder in iPhoto and added some images off of the stream and now the name of my stream seems to be connected to this event folder. Ugh. I’m afraid to add any of my pre-stream images from my iphoto library to the stream. At the moment it seems to distinguish between photos saved in the photostream and photos saved locally (on the “camera roll” on the iDevice), but does that mean the same images in both places are being saved twice. And when I organize my photos on my macs in folders (by events), will that organization get lost in the stream if I drop the photos back into the stream. The lack of controls makes me wonder. I mean, I wonder if the only way to organize my photos and share the organization back to my iPad and iPhone is to hook the devices back to a host Mac. Ugh. This is definitely a version 1.0 product.

I was able to find several video tutorials on YouTube about how to “delete photos” from photostream (one example listed below), but they were all about temporarily disabling photostream on all devices, then deleting all photos on the photostream and resuming using photostream… Not the workflow that i’m looking for. Damn.

resources:

• photostream screen grab by joe bustillos, http://joebustillos.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2011-10-27-photostream.jpg retrieved 10/29/2011.
• iCloud logo by Apple Inc., http://www.apple.com/icloud/ retrieved 10/29/2011.
• “Photostream Your Photos on All Your Devices” by Apple Inc., http://www.apple.com/icloud/ retrieved 10/29/2011.
• Delete Photos from Photo Stream in iCloud – iOS 5 [LONG VERSION] by docrock808, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MRhMtBeCkQ retrieved 10/29/2011.

This is kind’a scary. Long ago I decided that I should not be ashamed of my continual attraction to computer/iPad/iPhone cases any more than what I’ve noted of the attraction of my female friends to all things shoes and accessories. So here’s my latest acquisition in the world of iPhone 4 cases, the Book Book for iPhone4 by TwelveSouth. My one and only venture in filio/wallet type iphone cases was Griffin Tech’s Elan Passport Wallet, which I only used once or twice and then exiled to the “was a good idea at the time” drawer.

So the book-book was a complete impulse buy and the first thing that I noticed was that, in keeping with the vintage book look, the case has no cut-out in the back for the camera. I take a lot of pictures with my iPhone so this should have been a real deal killer. Funny thing was that the Elan Passport had the camera cut-out but didn’t make the cut, so why is it that I’ve kept using the book-book case? I think that the book-book does a better job being a phone-case/wallet hybrid than the Elan because of the little ID window and bill fold pocket that’s missing in the Elan. Also, there’s something fun, for those who have known me for years, that I’m carrying around what looks like a little book (bible?). Oh yeah, when I finally looked at the video from Twelve-South (above top), I realized that I could take pictures by lifting up the red tab and sliding the iPhone up just enough to uncover the camera lens. Not too elegant, but it gets the job done and it’s a fun case (almost as much fun as the video implies).

Berlin in 4:33 / iPhone 4 from Martin Botvidsson on Vimeo.

It’s Monday, let there be art video: Berlin in 4 minutes and 33 seconds – Aufgenommen mit einem iPhone 4

Then there’s this excellent example of the tech news analysis by Tom Merritt and Rafe Needleman in CNET’s “Real Deal” podcast. The two put the iPad announcement into the historical context, looking at many of the previous, mostly failed, attempts to popularize the tablet/handheld class of computer. Make sure to visit the podcast website, these guys have excellent show notes and links to all of the gadgets mentioned in the video/podcast.

Then there’s this speculative editorial that wants to pass itself off as news reporting. Molly Wood is a smart, funny journalist, but she’s definitely from the media personality school of thought where snarky strong opinions are pushed to the front, generating huge positive or negative responses. I can’t watch this video without getting pissed-off. Ack. Moving on.

Discounting the noise being made by those who flat out hate all things Apple, iPhone or Steve Jobs, I’ve noted at least two trends between the fanboys and the haters. The first trend seems to be that pretty much none of the haters have actually touched the device and are making their vitriolic pronouncements based on the videos and the device spec sheet. This leads to the second observation: all of the haters are freaking out about all of the things the device doesn’t have. Oh my god, it doesn’t have a walk-in closet! Perhaps you missed that opening slide in the keynote where Jobs placed the device between a smart phone and a laptop. The idea is that the device will have things missing in the smart phone and won’t have things found on the laptop, like a three-car garage (crap, now I’m sounding like Molly Wood). Moving on.

In the Real Deal podcast, Needleman said that the Newton failed because it tried to do too much given the technology limitations of the time, whereas the Palm succeeded because it focused on a few things that needed to get done: contact list, calendar, notes and successfully syncing the three with one’s PC. Years later the iPhone successfully followed that path by focusing on being a great phone, being a great media player and being a great internet device. AND they had the wisdom to NOT try to boot-strap the Windows/OSX mouse/keyboard based user-interface to the thing. They broke with the past and focused on what needed to get done (a la Palm). Conversely, Microsoft had already been churning away in the smartphone space for years when the iPhone was introduced, but all they kept doing was trying to cram the Windows desktop (that was meant for big desktop LCD screens) onto tiny 2-inch screens and it did not take hold because Window-Mobile required seven-menu choices to do anything. Anyone remember this video from a few years ago on what it might have been like if Microsoft had produced the first iPod box?

Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Time Columnist, said it best in his initial reflection on the device, writing that the device is not something that can easily be assessed by a feature list or an illustration. I think the reason that the iPad is more than a dumbed-down tablet or giant-iTouch is that it’s not meant to be a stand-alone do-everything desktop computer replacement. In fact, it’s greatest feature might be something that has nothing to do with it’s beautiful design or the list of things it doesn’t have. The revolution that the iPhone started, of having useful Internet connectivity in the palm of your hand… maybe the iPad represents the next step as far as having an even better experience playing ones media, a more immersive experience interacting with “print” journalism in a way that books, newspapers and magazine could never deliver, and in a form-factor that’s much more natural than a keyboard and mouse. It’s not the thing, it’s what the thing connects you to. The word Portal comes to mind.

OLPC-meet-Taco-Beach by Joe Bustillos

Who needs it? asks all of the haters and most of the pundits. It’s not for the PC hardware tweakers or the hardcore gamers. Leo Laporte says it’s not for content creators, but I think that depends on what kind of content one is creating. I have begun blog entries and other correspondence on my iPhone. The idea that I can have the same access anywhere at any time and have more screen space to work with (and I can choose to use a real keyboard!), I’m in. I wrote a few weeks ago about the difference it would make having a smaller footprint than my 15′ laptop while enjoying those long afternoons cheering on my teams in my local pubs while grading papers and/or writing my blog. In fact, not long after I got my OLPC-XO netbook-sized $100 I took it to my local pub to enjoy the evening. I loved the size but the machine was just too underpowered and UI was too weird to be useful. That’s one of the things that’s kept me from buying one of the cheap netbooks, the prospect that it’d be too underpowered to do the things that I want to do. I watched the videos from CES of IdeaPad U1 hybrid, and when they used the touch and swipe gestures, the device lagged behind the finger. Two Processors and still underpowered. Boo! the The other thing that stopped me was that I wanted always-connected G3 service without having to dish out another $60 a month. I want to be able to grab my small device and write or play with my blogs while out and about. When I need to break-out the Final Cut Pro or need to spread my Dreamweaver layouts across three large monitors I have my macbook pro or my 27″ iMac to get the job down. But lately I’ve been choosing to compose and edit work while on my treadmill or on the couch. So, I guess I must be one of those “no ones” that Molly Wood was talking about (did she actually predict that there’s a market of only 2800 people for this thing? Maybe she confused this for the Palm Pre or her beloved Droid…[snark]).

You know who else this device might be for? My mom. She does email and loves getting photos of her grandchildren. I gave her a mac mini a few years ago but the combination of me living too far away to help her when the Internet breaks and the fact that she uses the computer just infrequently enough to never be very good at it makes me wonder if something like the iPad might work for her. Besides being a simplified device that’s always connected (saving her probably $30 a month to drop her DSL service!), she can use the thing anywhere she wants to, making the “computer” something that she doesn’t have to go to a special room (their spare bedroom) to do and maybe she’ll do it frequently enough to enjoy it more. Only downside (besides the price) is that I’d worry that if it fell off the couch she or dad would step on it and break it. Damn. Having a camera for video-chat would be great too (the OLPC-XO had that!). My siblings and I just bought mom a new 19″ LCD because the old CRT was … old. I think she need to break out of that room and grab the Internet with both hands, but I’m probably the only one who thinks that.

The device might not be meant for content creators, except for us text-jockeys and bloggers who like to roam when we write. But content creators, especially the vanishing “print” media, better be paying attention because this might open up a real platform to re-imagine what they could be producing and marketing. It could completely blur the lines between what used to be called Print and Audio and Video. Add social networking and citizen journalism and you have something completely different. I already have a plug-in that make my blog more iPhone-friendly, I’d love to see a WordPress plug-in that would retain more of my magazine-style blog layout. Then there’s the problem that I like posting flash videos in my posts and Adobe and Apple aren’t getting along. Damn. If they don’t fix it, then someone will because we want our videos and we’re not going to wait for h.264 Quicktime downloads. Well, Time, Inc. understands the potential. Question is whether they’ll join up or try to lash-up their own walled garden. I wonder if this might help Mad Magazine go back to being a monthly instead of a quarterly. I’d subscribe to Mad Magazine on my iPad. Too bad only 2800 posers will be buying this thing ’cause it doesn’t include a fire-alarm or any self-sealing stem bolts. Damn.

Sources:

YouTube video: Jobs Unveils “iPad” by CBSNewsOnline. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poaUbmdUcCY retrieved on 2/15/2010

Real Deal Podcast 195: Tablet computers. http://www.cnet.com/8301-17920_1-10443889-84.html retrieved on 2/15/2010

YouTube video: CNET Buzz Report: Special iPad Edition by CNETTV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggww65cg2FM retrieved on 2/15/2010

YouTube video: Microsoft iPod by romph. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXAcwriid0 retrieved on 2/15/2010

Apple gives every other reader reason to be nervous with iPad by By ANDY IHNATKO, Sun-Times Columnist. http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/2015552,ihnatko-ipad-apple-launch-jobs-012710.article retrieved on 2/15/2010

image: OLPC Goes to Taco Beach by Joe Bustillos. http://joebustillos.com/2008/03/29/olpc-goes-to-taco-beach/ retrieved on 2/15/2010

IdeaPad U1 Hybrid Hands-On: Meet Voltron. He Could Be Amazing by Brian Barrett. http://gizmodo.com/5440922/ideapad-u1-hybrid-hands+on-meet-voltron-he-could-be-amazing retrieved on 2/15/2010

YouTube video: Sports Illustrated – Tablet Demo 1.5 by thewonderfactoryny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk retrieved on 2/15/2010

info: self-sealing stem bolts. http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Self-sealing_stem_bolt retrieved on STARDATE -313125.89 (2/15/2010)

It really comes down to current limitations in the HCI (Human/Computer Interface) area, specifically finding the best ways to get information into and out of these devices. We are limited by the size of the displays we find useful and the size of the keyboard. All of this would radically change should we find a projection technology that presents the visual feedback via a glasses based heads-up-display (HUD), or maybe projects the image right into the eye(s) of the user. As for keyboard/mouse input, there are already projection devices being developed, but what if a virtual reality overlay technology were included in the HUD display being projected into the glasses/eyes so that one would see a virtual keyboard attached to any user-selected flat surface. Of course, if voice-recognition were really functional than the keyboard would be just a secondary editing device used more for error correction than composition. Thus with some combination of VR/HUD and voice recognition the actual computer hardware might easily be the size of an iPhone (CPU, memory, battery, communications links) that never leaves ones pocket. And if/when the input/output become neural with direct links to the brain’s visual and language centers (the wiring harness discretely hidden in a stylish hat, of course), than the hardware might be the size of a piece of jewelry like the Star Trek Next Generation communicator badges. This may all seem very far fetched, but it’s really no more far fetched than having flexible display materials that can be rolled up into a tube.

Sources:
YouTube: Future Designer laptop – ROLLTOP //Diploma Thesis// posted by orkinful, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H0K1k54t6A retrieved on 11/01/2009.
Thanks to CK for sending me a copy of the video

image by scion cho (cc) 2008

As with all things web, one can subscribe to Leo’s AudioBoos through iTunes, RSS and at his profile page. A much simpler “unproduced” audio podcast tool? Something worth looking into, I’m sure.

Here’s several AudioBoos from Laporte’s trip:

image by leo laporte

image by leo laporte

image by leo laporte

image by leo laporte

image by leo laporte

Sources:
images: moshi moshi by scion cho, http://www.flickr.com/photos/scion02b/2832751376/ retrieved on 7/8/2009

images: travel images from Asia by leo laporte, http://audioboo.fm/profile/leolaporte retrieved on 7/9/2009

image by Caroline McCarthy/CNET

Year-Two in NYC w/ Dan, correspondent for Leo Laporte’s TWIT network:

Year-One in NYC w/ Shawn King from Your Mac Life:

For blow-by-blow, multi-city reporting on iPhone Launch Day, version 3 check out CNET’s Live blog: iPhone 3G S launch day coverage. Also check out CNET’s Photos: iPhone 3G S launch day

The Onion News folks did a perfect job echoing the hype and often irrational fandom of all things Apple. Then Hayman spent the next hour making me want to be an iPhone/iTouch programmer. Yikes. I really got sucked up into thinking about how easy it is to program the little things and what I could possibly come up with that would be fun to do, and possibly lucrative for me. Even as I was walking out to the car, talking to Holly about the cool things that could be done, I remembered, “Oh yeah, I just restarted my doctorate program, I’m going to find it hard to find time to sleep…” Damn. I wonder how I could work this into a dissertation research question. Hmmm.

Just spent several cramped hours in economy class writing on my mbp. My laptop and I need to lose some weight. I could type but it was difficult using the track-pad. A privacy screen on the LCD might have been nice, but I couldn’t fully open the laptop because the passenger in front of me was tipped all the way back, so the privacy screen would have backfired on me. Something XO-1 sized would have worked. Or maybe a foldable Bluetooth keyboard with a detachable stand to prop my iphone on. Or maybe something Kindle-sized but less “Soviet” era in the style department. I’m tempted but I don’t want to go back to Windows. And I want to have my Zinio magazine subscriptions and my documents on the thing. I guess I need to put more of my ongoing work up in the cloud. But what do I do about the fact that my workflow in everything except my blog goes through a mac app from Circus Ponies called Notebook. Stuff that I want to be able to edit across platforms and on multiple machines is done on Evernote. Damn. I’m spoiled. jbb

P.s. Next time I pack goodies for the flight I need to transfer the goodies to a pocket I can easily reach. I mean why wear cargo pants if I’m not going to fill all the pockets? Camera bag under the seat might as well be with the checked in luggage. Lesson learned. I’m really hungry right now.

All errrorrs courtesy my iPhone

From the big screen to the small, the ad would have us believe that what was once shared (the big screen), was lost in the next two steps (TV & computers) but wonderfully recaptured in this latest iteration, specifically the N-Series Nokia devices. Um… bullshit.

The one constant across the fabled four screens is the shared nature of the experiences. Whereas the shared nature of the big screen is immediate, what worked for TV, the second screen, was talking about ones favorite TV series or episodes with fellow fans later. The success of the media itself was and is dependent on the number of eyeballs watching and the number of eyeballs watching is dependent, largely on the conversation surrounding the series. Whereas the shared experience is largely immediate with the big screen, it’s no less real for the small screen, just less immediate. The ad says that the experience is “Private.” Perhaps, but if the producers want to be successful it must, by nature, be communal on a massive scale.

So the third screen, the computer screen, bane of all that is good and human in the world; If all of your experiences of this screen is Excel spreadsheets and corporate email, God help you and we’re very sorry for you. But just like the TV experience, what is good and works is what connects us via this particular screen. IM (instant messaging), chat, social networking, webcams, email and gaming are all aspects that can connect us in a way that isn’t possible by any other means. With this third screen the connection is both in real time and “time-shifted.” And gaming, specifically listed in the ad, is successful because it is a shared experience, either in-real-time, or the same conversation had about favorite movies (1st screen) or TV shows (2nd screen). Contrary to popular belief and this ad, what works with gaming in particular and computers in general, is the common experience of the journey, struggle and triumph either as a clan or even as an observer. The storytelling and experience of the first screen, movies, is continued with this third screen in a powerful way that surpasses the passive experience of the first screen. Third screen, gaming and computers, FTW!

So, this fable fourth screen, the savior of all that is connected and good in the world, follows the same pattern: whatever works with the third screen applies to the fourth screen. The lie is that because it’s portable, where one can enjoy media in the presence of ones community then it must be more connected. Again, bullshit. It’s not the portability that makes it more connected, it’s the video conferencing, TM and IM, network gaming, apps that connect to all of the social networking. The portability makes it something that can be experienced away from the desktop or a set location, but it’s the activity, the shared experience, that makes it more connected, not the portability. The imagery that we’re all getting back together and reconnecting because of this fourth screen is largely fictional. We’ve always been connected but the potential and power is much much greater, and now, more portable.

The unspoken truth about gaming and technology is they can take connectedness to the next level, combining the shared experience with interactive participation and freedom from location or time limitations. Except for the fringe anti-social users, who would be anti-social regardless of the technology, the truth is that we are reaching an unprecedented level of meaningful human connection, not due to some portable device but because that is what humans do when the possibility of connectedness is realized. If your experience of technology is dehumanizing and disconnected perhaps you should examine your usage and not blame the technology but your own inability to look someone in the face and say, “Hi.” jbb

*Original source: http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2008/07/25/will-the-4th-screen-bring-us-together/

• Knocking on doors 4 Obama/get out 2 vote. CFU Student housing nightmare, apt. # don’t march forms. Working w/ apt. staff. Sitting in lobby 11:52 AM Nov 1st from Twinkle
• @fasterkitty true, bad feelings from 2000. 2 bad parties can’t play fair after the election 2 deal w/ real problems vs. dirty tricks 12:04 PM Nov 1st from TwitterFon in reply to fasterkitty
• @therealterry I can appreciate libertarians representing responsible gov’t/anti-gov’t interference. Doubt umbrella-party will cooperate 12:32 PM Nov 1st from TwitterFon in reply to therealterry

Alas, by 2 pm I was ready for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at my local Friendly Confines… mmmm, beer…. thoughts turned decidedly unpolitical. jbb

Love the great big dimples.

Will the disgrace never cease?! The tranquility of this peaceful place has now been replaced by a bold pirate marking his spot in the sand… [sadness]. jbb

Like many, I spent the first part of the week checking of the new apps available for the iPhone. All of which explains my lack of productivity this past week (add to that I was finally able to FTP up to my website…). One app that I really held out a lot of promise for was the Evernote app. After fiddling with it a bit I wrote on my iPhone:

“I was under the impression that I couldn’t create a note on my iPhone using Evernote, but here I am writing this note. Up until now I’ve written blog ideas in the notepad app on my iPhone then email them to myself for further editing on my computer. And if I wanted to edit an idea begun on my MacBook I’d email it to myself and edit it in the iPhone’s mail app. I think I’m going to like doing it in Evernote instead. Yea! jbb“

A bit later I discovered that one could write new notes on the Evernote iPhone app but once the note was “saved” (to the cloud) it couldn’t be re-edited on the phone. Also, notes written elsewhere were viewable, but not editable on the iPhone. Damn.

So much for using this as a “write/edit anywhere” tool. They do promise to add the editing feature REAL SOON NOW (a phrase made famous 25-years ago in Jerry Pournelle‘s “Chaos Manor” column for BYTE Magazine). Here’s hoping. One thing that makes me all the more hopeful is how powerful Evernote is on the desktop as a web-clipping tool. I’m very impressed. Clicking on the little green Evernote elephant Firefox extention sends the contents of the page being viewed to Evernote to be stored with images and links for later usage. I know that there have been other desktop applications (including my beloved Notebook by CircusPonies), but the key here is that his information is now saved and accessible from any web device and searchable right down to text within images. [sigh] Waiting for iPhone app upgrade…. jbb

Music: Another Day from the album “If My Ancestors Could See Me Now” by Ivan Neville

“If My Ancestors Could See Me Now” (Ivan Neville)

Redecorating, originally uploaded by Melaina.

You know you’re way too into your phone when you move your furniture to accommodate the coverage, or lack thereof. I just wanna be done with that cluttered in the corner/empty spaces and walls just moved-in look. jbb