octumo.com

I’ve been pondering the strange moves by Apple Inc over the last couple of months in its apparent indecision on their iPhone software strategy. From the start, the mantra seemed to revolve around making a piece of hardware which is both minimalist but advanced. 1 button to perform all functions, which allows any change in functionality to be added, only limited to what the hardware can do.  The hardware has been much talked about (3G, touchscreen etc) so I’ll leave that to others to talk about. This article will focus on the logical & future software developments and what I believe Steve had intended.

One of the biggest advances in my eyes is the browser functionality. The ‘Mobile’ Safari version, although buggy, is still an excellently implemented piece of software. Never has mobile browsing been such a joy. The iPhone’s ‘double-tap to zoom’ functionality makes viewing regular web pages a breeze. Many doubted Steve when he announced that there would be no way for third party developers to make applications that run natively on the iPhone. Instead, he proclaimed that you could just set up web pages accessible through the iPhones Browser, which in turn access the various applications you may need. His assertion was later reversed with the announcement of the forthcoming SDK (Software Development Kit) in February, establishing the framework for third-party applications to run on the iPhone.

I think I may have an idea of what his idea was for for the iPhone and its original development path.

[Read more →]

I managed to get my hands on some last-minute Foo Fighter’s tickets for Sunday’s gig at the O2 (formerly the famed Millennium Dome), courtesy of a business contact.

We had seated tickets so there was no need to get there early, half an hour seemed sufficient. We missed most of the support act Serj Tankian (of “System of a Down” fame). Didn’t seem to miss much although Serj was keen to big up the Foos.

The gig started almost without warning and Grohl took some time before he really started interacting with the crowd. He started the set with recent single “Pretender”. His energy really started to show in the second song, when it seems Grohl came into his own, running up and down the stage in an impressive show of enthusiasm for music. This was both a taster of what was to come and a display of what makes the Foo Fighters such a great band.

I recorded the set list on my iPhone as we went along: “The Pretender, Times Like These, Breakout, The Long Road to Ruin … screw this, I am having to much fun to pull out my phone and note down every song name”.

The gig really took ahold of me after about 4 songs and while I was still taking pics on my iPhone and posting them straight to Flickr via email (great feature by the way), it was really a chore rather than anything remotely connected to the amateur photo-journalism I usually enjoy. But I had to have something for the folks back home and they seemed to appreciate the service.

After a rock set, an acoustic set and some experimental (and excellent) Triangle and Guitar solos by guest artists, the encore flew past too fast for my liking. I wanted them to continue playing forever.

The acoustic set was performed on a circular stage in the center of the arena, hoisted from the ceiling halfway through the set, and was somewhat epic. It gave the band a chance to exhibit their range and technical skill.

Serj performed with the band for the last song, practically redeeming himself and making me curious to maybe browse over to his MySpace page to have a less critical listen to his music. Personal preference is at play here, I have to admit.

Overall the energy of the gig was fantastic and the band was great at motivating the audience. I very much enjoyed it.

The venue itself is very good and I was impressed what O2 have done with it. I never had an interest in the “boring” Millennium Dome but it was positively teeming with people and has a mall-type setup with bars, restaurants, exhibition space and even an Ice-Rink. And we even managed to get some complementary Egyptian food and tea just because we are O2 customers.

I will look out for future dates at the O2 and I recommend the Venue and the Band highly.

The gig rates 2nd on my list of favorite gigs (after Muse at Wembley).

Related:
Pictures - Foo Fighters at The O2
Pictures - Muse at Wembley
TheO2.co.uk

I had a nice surprise when I checked my podcast feeds. I was casually watching the latest episode of TeXtra (Episode 97) when I saw some pictures that looked vaguely familiar. At this early hour, it too me a while to figure out that Natalie (the presenter) had featured some my Regent Street iPhone Launch pics in her show. Very nice of her.

Check out TeXtra at textra.podshow.com. Its a great tech video podcast. I like it because Natalie covers tech news but throws in her own thoughts and opinions on the storied she covers. That’s why podcasts are the media of the future. They come across as real and sometimes a little raw but its on a contrast to traditional news media. Refreshing.

We arrived at Oxford Circus at about 5:25pm. My brother had already been in the queue since about 4:15pm so we were about 200 places down the line. I had a rather disheartening walk past all the hard-core ‘queuers’ to a somewhat sobering wait about 200th in line on Hanover Street.

Despite that, there were still plenty of things happening. TV crews seemed keen to document what we do best in Britain - queue. We were interviewed more than once while waiting and managed to get an interview with CNN while activating one of our iPhones. With offers of free stuff from Starbucks (Coffee and Mince Pies - already!), On Networks, The Cloud (24 hour free Trial), T3, ZDNet.com, Griffin (rain coats), O2 (water), the wait was less boring that I had foreseen.

Once they threw open the doors (and you could hear that all the way down Hanover Street), the line moved very fast and within 5 minutes we were in. We had to line up again inside but at least we weren’t freezing to death anymore. We snaked our way past all the media and checked out some of the iPhone cases (loads in stock at the ridiculous prices that they charge in the store). After purchase we elatedly went over to one of the desks (which were strangely devoid of people) and set up shop there. My brother had brought his Macbook Pro and started activating our phones. After about 1/2 hour, all three phones were activated and in use. While I was happily unpacking my phone in readiness for activation, a CNN camera crew came and started to film us activating our phones. Not surprising as we seemed to be the only people actually doing so in the store. They then moved on to filming my brother while he activated his iPhone, they pretty much filmed the entire process including his first phone call. They seemed happy with the result.

We then noticed that Phil Schiller (Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing) was hanging around doing interviews. We took some pics of that and then went up to him to ask him to pose for photos with us. He obliged and proceeded to have a chat. He was particularly interested in how our activation process went and how we liked O2 as a carrier. He also asked us about our experience with the iPhone so far and went so far as trying to show my brother some of the features! Very cool guy. Very genuine. We spoke with him for almost five minutes. We thanked him for bringing out another great product and then left the apple store to go home and play around some more with this great gadget.

On the way home, I was approached three times while using the iPhone. People asking ‘is that the new iPhone?’ is sure to be a constant part of my life for the next few months.
Having used the iPhone now for a couple of hours, I will say that I am more impressed with it than I thought I would be. I enjoy all the features and find the entire device extremely simple to use. You just have to think how something should work and that’s how it works. The buzz in the store was tangible and Apple did another great job at PR on this launch. I am happy to have been there.

A few interesting points to note:
- Apple had up to 300 store employees on the floor for the Launch.
- at 5:55pm a store employee came down the queue telling all those in line that the iPhone could be bought in cash tonight only (see video link below). This seems to be a reversal of their previous policy.
- Phil Schiller seemed particularly interested/almost concerned, with the activation process.
- The store staff did NOT want us to activate our phones on one of their machines, but did allow us to set up our own laptop to activate it.
- The iPhone box is slightly larger than the US one to accommodate the larger power adaptor.
- Ships with Software version 1.1.2

Links:
YouTube videos from Regent Street iPhone Launch
Flickr Set of Regent Street iPhone Launch

After deciding that the lack of FM on the iPod was somewhat regrettable, I went over to Amazon.co.uk and bought myself the Apple branded iPod radio remote. Somehow the feeling of being able to add yet another option to my iPod’s home screen seemed tantalizingly attractive. So I laid down a somewhat wallet-depleting (for a mere remote) £35 and hoped for the best. It comes in the usual pretty Apple packaging and I was pleasantly surprised to find a set of Shuffle style ear buds (with a shorter lead). After figuring out why I could only tune into odd numbers on the dial, (you have to set the region for the radio in your iPod settings), I experienced the unbridled pleasure of listening to the various BBC radio stations (arguably some of the best in the world- especially if you are used to US programming!). All right on my iPod.However, I had a couple of issues. The reception is far from perfect. On my commute to work (which is 20 mins by bicycle or 10 mins by car), I get quite a lot of static, and its not much better in other areas.

I did have a nice experience listening on the Tube in London (Subway for those in the US) where someone came and asked me how I got the radio on my iPod as he had never seen the screen that pops up when you are listening to the radio. It was quite significant because as you may know, it is a big no-no to speak to strangers on the tube.

It does work fantastically as a remote for the iPod. Its Shuffle-like controls make it a perfect addition to my iPod themed musical collection of gadgets.

In summary: After a couple of weeks of use, I would recommend the Radio Remote more for the‘Remote’ part than its ‘Radio’ features; I find myself using the latter less and less. I use it on my bicycle and motorbike as a remote. Finally something that enables me to block out the rest of the world to some degree even when riding right through it.