3/1/2009 - CubeCheater iPhone app

I'm constantly amazed by the creativeness of some of these apps for the iPhone. There seems to be no limit in what you can do with a handheld computer with a built-in camera and an internet connection. I'm pretty sure programs existed that let you solve a Rubik's Cube before, but I'm sure they were tedious to use since you would have to enter in the colors on each face of the cube manually. That's where the iPhone's camera comes in:



I never understood the method in solving a Rubik's Cube. But with this app, I would never have to. :)

1/31/2009 - UStream on iPhone/iPod Touch

The Truman Show is one of my favorite movies and is probably Jim Carrey's best acting performance (I still love him as Ace Ventura more, though). The "Show" itself is actually a live uninterrupted broadcast of Truman Burbank (Carrey) and his life as it happens. It's a fascinating concept and the movie came out just as the reality-TV show craze started.

I bet the creators of The Truman Show didn't anticipate, however, that in just a few short years websites like UStream and Justin.tv would allow anybody with a webcam and an internet connection to broadcast their lives voluntarily. I guess these websites take advantage of the fact that there are a lot of voyeurs online.

Plus, it's just a great demonstration of technology. Just take YouTube, make it live, and fulfill your dreams of becoming an internet celebrity. I remember when portable TV's were a luxury item 15 years ago. Now with internet connected portable devices like cell phones, watching internet streams on the go will soon be a reality:

11/27/2008 - SMule: Ocarina for iPhone

One of the annoying things about owning an iPod Touch instead of an iPhone is that I can't use any of the applications that require a microphone for input. For example, the latest version of the Google application uses voice recognition to decipher what you are searching for but just speaking your query. Also, I would love to try out those apps that recognize any song you're feeding into the microphone. But this app might just trump them all.

The ocarina may not be the most popular wind instrument in the world, but it has gained fame amongst gamers for being the title instrument in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In the game, Link uses the Ocarina to cast spells that range from teleportation to changing the weather to time travel. As the game exploded in popularity, so did the ocarina. I remember them selling ocarinas within the pages of Nintendo Power.

It took some real ingenuity to design an application for the iPhone that mimics the functionality of the ocarina. This can only be done because the microphone can pick up sounds such as blowing, and because the screen is multitouch. Of course if you are going to demonstrate an ocarina application, you must play a Legend of Zelda song:

10/15/2008 - T-Mobile G1 Android - Hands on vid

If you have any doubt as to how far ahead of the game Apple was in January 2007 when they first announced the iPhone to the world, then this video should convince you otherwise. It took almost two years after that announcement, but the most anticipated iPhone competitor will arrive next week in the form of an HTC phone with Google's Android operating system. There's no doubt that the folks at Google are code gurus, but it looks like not even their genius could reverse-engineer what Apple did with the iPhone so many moons ago. The best way to show this is with a side-by-side comparison:



Nice try, Google... but by the time you get something that matches the iPhone, Apple will just release an upgrade.

9/8/2008 - "I Am Rich" Guided Tour

I admit it, I'm kind of a cheapskate when it comes to software. Nearly all my programs on my laptop are free and I haven't paid for any of the programs on my iPod touch. It would take a very special program that I really need in order for me to justify its purchase. Yeah, I'll probably end up getting a unit conversion program for 99-cents, but I doubt I would ever buy a game for $10. So I had to laugh when I heard about a program for the iPhone/iPod touch that was merely a statement of how wealthy the owner was. It's a $1000 program that is nothing more than a picture of a ruby. I've heard that there were actually 6 purchases of this program before Apple yanked it from the App Store. Of course, I was curious as to what this program actually looked like and the "secret message" contained within it... so I found it on YouTube:

8/2/2008 - Texas Hold'em Poker - iTunes App Store

Here's another video of a new application on the iPhone/iPod Touch. I'm not featuring it just because it's an amazing game of Texas Hold'em. Although that alone might warrant it. I mean, when I first heard about games being sold on the App Store, never did I imagine a game like this with full-motion video. It's not completely necessary, especially for a Poker game. But it makes for a fantastic presentation, and it shows off the capabilities of the iPhone well. But what makes this video worth watching is what happens during the demonstration. It shows that Texas Hold'em is really a game of luck after all.

7/30/2008 - Is iPhone 2.0 Worth It?

After playing with the new iPod Touch 2.0 software, I can confidently say that mobile computing has finally arrived. I have played with software on my old Palm before, but that's exactly all I was doing... "playing". Compared to the robust nature of the iPhone/iPod Touch applications, Palm software is child's play. Sure, the hardware and interface of the iPhone is years ahead of my old Palm, but it's the architecture and ecosystem that Apple has presented with the App Store that is a true revolution. Chris Pirillo has a good demonstration of what can be done with the new iPhone Apps:



Now how cool is that Midomi app? I had an idea to program something like that once, but never did I imagine the use of voice recognition in that way. It's too bad my iPod Touch doesn't have a microphone... otherwise I'd have fun with that. Speaking of which, this video doesn't even cover the games that are available in the App Store. Most of these games use the accelerometer as steering controls, but some of them use the touchscreen as well. I wouldn't go as far as saying that it will outdo the Nintendo DS or the PSP, but it's always fun to see how the gaming industry takes on the challenge of new hardware.

6/26/2008 - Introducing Windows Vista for iPhone

Months ago I would have given some slack to Windows Vista. After all, how bad could it possibly be? The thing is I exactly have a computer that runs it. I've only tested it out in stores and on other computers. Well, after having to set up a few Vista computers at work, I can honestly say that it is that bad. I just don't get how they could have screwed it up that badly. My main complaint about it before was that it required too much in terms of RAM and processor... that it was a bad excuse for people to buy new hardware. While that is still true, the other problems with Vista I have faced gave me a full appreciation as to why people want to downgrade to XP. When an "upgrade" like Service Pack 1 causes a computer to crash with the Blue Screen of Death, you know you have a turkey of an operating system. Vista was supposed to be touted as all backwards compatible, but that is simply not the case. Much of that is due to lack of drivers, but if the codebase is not supposed to be that different from XP, then incompatibility is just a sign of bad programming. What offends me most about Vista is its blatant attempt to copy Mac OS X's interface with its fluid animations and graphical flourishes. So I don't know if its some kind of sick joke or karmic retribution that something like this can even be thought up:

6/2/2008 - Mobile Visual Search Engine on the Apple iPhone

Having an iPod Touch, I get most of what the iPhone has to offer but with no expensive monthly costs to AT&T. However, what I do lack are features that I actually desire. First, of course, is the phone aspect which means I have to carry around a separate phone. Second is being able to access the internet without needing to be near a hotspot. I can't tell you how many times I would have liked to grab a webpage on my iPod Touch but couldn't because I wasn't near a hotspot. Last but not least is the built in camera the iPhone has. It's not the highest resolution of cameras and there is no flash, but there is that convenience factor again. If I wanted a quick picture and I don't have my Canon around, I'm out of luck. Also, I can't access cool applications that use the camera like this one:



I guess this program is web-based and therefore not exclusive to the iPhone, but the iPhone makes it all look easy. I'm sure it would have taken triple the number of steps to get the picture to attach to an e-mail on other "smartphones".

3/27/2008 - Watch iPhone's clock "spring ahead"

The only thing this video proves is that the fanfare music in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey makes any anticipated moment cool:

3/22/2008 - Trism : Upcoming iPhone Game

One of the most exciting prospects of the iPhone/iPod Touch SDK is that games will soon be available for the platform and you know I'm all about games. I haven't had a portable system since the original Gameboy and I'm really looking forward to see what I'll be able to download for my iPod Touch. Now you may ask how can you have any games on a system without buttons? Well, the games themselves won't be traditional games that you'd see on the PSP or even the Nintendo DS. These would have to be unique games that takes advantage of the unique features of the iPhone/iPod Touch: the touchscreen and the accelerometer. One such game would be Trism, demonstrated in this video:



Boy, does that look cool. Oh, and remember, future developers... the iPhone/iPod Touch has WiFi!

3/15/2008 - iPhone Stopwatch hits 1,000 hours

You know the phrase "Kodak moment"... it's that rare, one time moment that is captured by a picture or should have been captured by a picture. Well, I think there should be a new phrase: the "YouTube moment". It's not just a snapshot that makes for a good scrapbook entry. It's something that needs video to demonstrate its awesomeness or uniqueness. It may be one of those things that has to be seen to be believed. What makes for a good "YouTube moment"? I think this video is a perfect example of it:



For those who can't do the math, it took almost 42 days to come up with the result of this video. And again it shows you that Apple has thought of everything.

1/17/2008 - Tekken 3 [psx4iphone 0.1.0]

Now here's something I didn't expect to see on the iPhone... a full Playstation emulator on it! If you thought the NES emulator on the iPhone was impressive, this will knock your socks off. Yes, it has a pretty bad framerate, but it's just the first version. Now, you may ask, "why not just get a PSP"? Well, that's certainly a way to fulfill your desire to play Playstation on the go, but can you also play Gameboy games on it? How about NES games? Of course not. That's why the idea of having these emulators on the iPhone is great (if you're willing to skate on the edge of legality).



Boy, I can't wait for the official SDK to come out next month so we can see all sorts of these kinds of programs for the iPhone/iPod Touch. It's fair to say that it would be hard to control a game with a virtual control pad as shown here, but once there's an official way for developers to write applications for the iPhone and interact with the hardware, I can imagine someone creating a dockable add-on for the iPhone with physical controller buttons. Something like that could make the iPhone a true mobile gaming platform. Watch out, Nintendo and Sony!

10/26/2007 - Bricked but Useful

Apple is getting so big right now, that they don't seem like the underdog anymore. Their stock is at an all time high and today marked the launch of their newest operating system, Leopard. There may have been lines for Windows Vista, but I doubt that they had such enthusiasm and hipness as the lines for Leopard.

With the explosive growth of Apple, though, have come some growing pains. I mean, you know you're huge when you get monopoly lawsuits left and right. This was something that Microsoft faced all the time a few years ago, and now it's hitting Apple. The thing is, some of these complaints actually have a bit of merit. Apple's iPod has such a stranglehold on the market, that Apple can really get away with charging a premium on them. Just research what their profit margin is on each iPod, and you'll see what I mean.

What's really bad, though, is that Apple has begun to act like Microsoft too. For example, take the new iPod Touch... at first blush, it does seem to be the product for those who wanted an iPhone without the phone. Unfortunately, they got rid of so many of the software applications from the iPhone that you could not use it as a PDA. What's frustrating about this is that some of these apps that were taken out had nothing to do with the phone or camera hardware of the iPhone. Apple just took them out so that they'd have an incentive for people to buy the iPhone instead of the Touch. This is exactly what Microsoft did with their gazillion versions of Vista!

Also, what disappointed a lot of people recently is their recent firmware upgrade with the iPhone. If you made certain changes to your iPhone such as adding applications or unlocking it for other cellphone carriers, the firmware upgrade would "brick" the iPhone (disable its functionality altogether, making as useful as a brick). Now, Apple probably reserved the right to do this in their EULA, but I think I would be pretty mad if I spent all that money on a device that didn't work anymore because of a firmware modification.

Well, the guy in this next video didn't just get mad. He made a video parody of the situation:

9/6/2007 - In Your Face, Microsoft! (2 videos)

I've made my points about Microsoft and Apple in the past, but what happened yesterday really has solidified my position. First came the announcement that the Microsoft Zune was discounted $50 to make it $199. Now, the only real reason to discount something is to sell more of them (as long as you have the supply and can still make a profit). Everybody knows that the Zune really hasn't done that well, especially when compared to its direct competitor, the Apple iPod. Well, wasn't it curious that Microsoft would make the price cut on the exact day that Apple was introducing its new line of iPods? Coincidence? I think not.

Boy, I tell ya... if I were Microsoft or any other media player manufacturer, I'd be sweating bullets at the prospect of competing with Apple this holiday season. With the new iPods Apple introduced yesterday, they have something for pretty much everybody...except me, but that's another story (or blog entry). Everybody pretty much knew that the iPod was going to go with touch controls like the iPhone, but seeing it in reality is a different story, especially with a price point affordable to most gadget fans. Now, I'm not one to rub in the failures and the faults of others, but with Microsoft, I'll make an exception:

This is what would happen if Microsoft designed the iPod package:

It's funny because it would be true.

And this is what Microsoft's smart phone would be like:

Yeah, I could see that.

8/20/2007 - iPhone NES Emulator

In his keynote presentation introducing the iPhone, Steve Jobs said that the "killer app" of the iPhone is making calls. Well, I think there's a new killer app out there... some hacker out there took it upon himself (and I'm pretty sure it's a "him") to install a program that will emulate a Nintendo Entertainment System on the iPhone complete with a virtual NES controller! This is something Apple themselves should have done... the iPhone would be a great platform as a gaming machine and while it wouldn't rival the GameBoy, I think that it would entice even more people to buy the device. Portable gaming machines themselves cost well over $100, so if Apple could make the iPhone a gaming device, then it would somewhat justify the $500-$600 price point. Here's some video of the NES Emulator on the iPhone... it may be a little slow, but it's only Version 1...

7/1/2007 - Shawn drops iPhone in Houston

So, one day after the big iPhone launch, and what becomes the most popular iPhone video on YouTube? It's of this guy, carelessly dropping his iPhone during the unboxing of it:



So why did this become so popular? My guess is that a lot of people out there are a little sick of hearing about the iPhone. Interestingly enough, it wasn't Apple themselves that generated all the hype. It was mainly the tech blogs and constant speculation of a product that was announced 6 months in advance that drove the iPhone frenzy. Really, all Apple did was put out 4 or 5 commercials of the iPhone during the last month. And yet, the anticipation for it was constant... leading some, especially those who read tech news and blogs everyday, to wish that the launch day would pass just to get on with their other business.

Also, there are those who have a bit of iPhone envy. Not everybody can afford the $500/$600 to get one and then pay AT&T at least $60/month for the pleasure of having the latest and greatest from the folks at Cupertino. So when we, the "common folk", see somebody drop and possibly damage their shiny new gadget, there's a little bit of satisfaction in the form of schaudenfreude that we experience. I know, it's bad... but we're all human.

6/29/2007 - My iPhone Diary

Today is iPhone day! I'm an Apple fanboy, so I wish I could have been part of those crowded lines (and being in Tucson, AZ with the 106-degree heat, that's saying a lot), but I don't have an extra $600 to burn. :( In all honesty, I don't use my cell phone too much, so as a phone, it wouldn't be worth much to me. So if they made a phone-less iPhone that didn't require a two-year plan, I'd love to replace my aging PDA even if it did cost $600.

To celebrate iPhone day, we have a video review of it by David Pogue of the New York Times. He's their technology writer and a Mac user himself. His reviews are always entertaining, combining just the right amount of humor with all those geeky details. For example, look at this video of him comparing the features of Windows Vista to those of Mac OS X. In a world of dry, boring technology reviewers, Pogue stands out with his more light-hearted take of Silicon Valley. If Justin Long didn't want to be the Mac guy in those Mac-PC commercials anymore, they should really hire David Pogue.