Linked List: June 20, 2012

Wednesday, 20 June 2012

You Can’t Create Content on the iPad ★

Patrick Rhone:

The entire draft manuscript of the Enough book was written using PlainText for iPad and iPhone by Hog Bay Software. Most of this work happened on the iPad but two initial essay drafts occurred on the iPhone as it was what I had available at the time.

Another guy who didn’t get the memo that the iPad is only for consumption.

Darth on the Non-Upgradability of Existing Windows Phone 7 Devices ★

I remember it like yesterday as well.

Larry Ellison Buys 141-Square-Mile Hawaiian Island ★

That’s a man who knows what to do with a fortune.

Windows Phone 8’s Improved Start Screen ★

Looks like a nice improvement, but I’m disappointed that Microsoft is sticking with the hardware Back button paradigm. (No upgrades for existing Windows Phone 7 devices, but there will be a Windows Phone “7.8” update that adds some of the UI features from 8.)

Reigniting the ‘iPad Is for Consumption Not Creation’ Flames ★

Nick Bilton:

The iPad, for all its glory, suffers from one very distinct flaw: It’s very difficult to use for creation. The keyboard on the screen, although pretty to look at, is abysmal for typing anything over 140 characters. There isn’t a built-in pen for note-taking, either. Of course all of this is intentional by Apple. Although there are hundreds of third party products available, Apple doesn’t seem to want the iPad to be a creator, but more of a consumer.

Bilton is smarter than this. I really thought we’d retired the whole “iPad is only for consumption” thing.

The idea that a dedicated hardware keyboard or a stylus is necessary for creation is ludicrous. Me, personally? Most of my creation is writing, and I type better on a hardware keyboard. That’s why my go-to mobile work machine is a MacBook Air, not an iPad. But I’ve seen people who type faster on an iPad than I type on a hardware keyboard. Watch a teenager type on an iPad.

Arguing that the iPad is only for consumption today is like arguing that the Macintosh was a toy back in the ’80s.

Microsoft Anchor Sinks Ford in J.D. Power Quality Survey ★

Cheryl Jensen, writing for the NYT Wheels weblog:

The J.D. Power & Associates Initial Quality Study released on Wednesday shows that automakers continue to make gains in vehicle quality, but the black art of telematics design poses a growing liability, especially for Ford.

Problems with its MyFord and MyLincoln Touch infotainment systems continued to bedevil the company, with other automakers hurt to a lesser degree. Ford dropped from fifth place in 2010 to 23rd in 2011, largely on complaints from owners who found the telematics to be unintuitive and complex. This year, Ford fell to 27th.

The name “Microsoft” appears nowhere in Jensen’s article, but should.

Surface vs. iPad Introduction Events ★

Brutal comparison.

Mat Honan Says a Keyboard Is the Only Way to Beat Apple ★

Couple of interesting points in Mat Honan’s piece for Gizmodo:

There was a security guard at the Microsoft event who pointed at my Macbook Air and asked me “is is true that once you go Mac you never go back?” Like most every other journalist at the Surface launch, I was on a MacBook Air.

The idea that a majority of journalists at a Microsoft press event would be using MacBooks would have been laughable just a few years ago. Surface is more than a response to the iPad — it’s a response to the MacBook Air too. Hence the dual ARM/Intel models.

At the Surface release, I saw an impressive demo, but didn’t get a good hands-on. My guess is that my total in-my-mitts time with the various tablets was somewhere between one-to-two minutes (which, in fairness to Microsoft was more than I got with the first iPhone or iPad when announced) and got no time at all using the keyboard — its killer feature.

Honan may not have gotten hands-on time with the iPhone or iPad at their debuts, but some did. There was no hands-on area after the iPhone introduction at Macworld Expo in January 2007. A very small handful of journalists (not including yours truly) got one-on-one briefings where they got to play with a prototype. See, for example, David Pogue’s report, where he says he “basically played with the iPhone the entire hour”. Very few people got time with the iPhone at its introduction, but nobody got an hour with the Surface this week.

And, with the original iPad, there’s simply no comparison. There was a hands-on area where all invited journalists were allowed to play with and examine the iPad — and its keyboard dock — for around an hour. I had 20 minutes of uninterrupted time with one.

The Surfaces that we got to examine that were turned on didn’t have SmartCovers attached, and the Surfaces with SmartCovers weren’t booted up. Microsoft was covering something, alright.

Surface may be good, may be bad, may be mediocre. Same goes for its intriguing keyboard covers. But at this point there’s simply no use passing judgment. We just don’t know. It isn’t ready yet.

Video of Microsoft’s Monday Surface Event ★

Worth watching if you have any interest in Surface — not so much because there’s any specific information that hasn’t been reported by those who attended the event, but because the event itself is telling. Watch and judge for yourself.

A Week With iOS 6 ★

Chuck Skoda:

Some people have been weighing in with disappointment about what they perceive as minor updates in iOS 6, but it addresses some very common pain points for customers. This is a refinement release, which as far as I can tell is a big part of Apple’s strategy for development. Somewhat a reflection of Intel’s “tick-tock” strategy, Apple makes a new release with big bets and new features, following it up with a release more notable for its tweaks and subtle refinements. We’ve seen Apple display this maneuver before: Leopard and Lion made bold steps forward for OS X and gave way to more attenuated updates in Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion. iPhone 3G and 4 were radical redesigns, while iPhone 3GS and 4S simply brought those same designs a new level of polish and elegance.

Hands-on With Microsoft Surface for Windows RT, Touch Cover, and Type Cover – Where by ‘Hands-On’ Engadget Means ‘Hands-Off’ ★

Dana Wollman, writing for Engadget:

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see a working demo of the keyboards. As in, we weren’t permitted to type sample sentences and feel what it’s like to hammer out characters on a flat keyboard, or on keys that have just 1.5mm of travel. It’s a shame, because what makes both keyboards special is that they have built-in accelerometers that allow the keyboard to tell which key you’re hitting, how fast and how forcefully. An intriguing idea if ever there was one, but difficult to weigh in on if all you’re allowed to do is peck at a lifeless demo model.

Those keyboards are the most interesting and innovative thing about the Surface. And Microsoft wouldn’t let anyone use them, even for a moment, at yesterday’s event.

Frog’s ‘Feel UX’ UI for Android ★

Looks good, and conceptually it’s a much better home screen design than Android’s default. I like the idea of three discrete columns: apps, widgets, shortcuts. But, ultimately, what difference could it make? A home screen and a UI theme are only skin deep. How is this any more than the proverbial lipstick on a pig?