Geeking it up
Had a mini geek meet in Brighton on the weekend – not many coherent photos but here they are!
Archived entries for Geekery
Stripping back tech….
Recently I have been feeling irritated with technology. This is kind of a problem bearing in mind I do web stuff on a regular basis! My main frustration comes with the desire for every device to do every task.
The iPhone is a great device but as you probably know from getting cut off mid call it isn’t actually that fantastic as a phone. In an old man way I miss the days of a phone doing it’s main task really well….calling, texting and maybe email.
So I have tried to move things into more distinct areas…..Kindle for reading, phone for calling, laptop for emails, pigeons for written messages…you get the idea. I mean I love gadgets but too much choice makes you unlikely to keep focus.
In the same way I like using low bandwidth internet as a restriction. I have a mobile wifi thingamajig and it isn’t all that fast. When you limit your connection speed it changes how you actually use the internet. For me that means less YouTube and more working – one of the reasons I like working on the train.
If it helps me work better and enjoy using technology then I am happy.
Kindle Egg
So I grabbed a Kindle for Jasper and myself recently. I had tried a few ways of reading e-books before and short of simple reference it didn’t work for me. Reading a book an the iPad is annoying as it is too large and the backlight strains the eyes – so I just didn’t read the books at all.
The thought of getting through a fiction book without burning your retinas drifted away. That is the real test for me – managing to get through something you are reading for pleasure over anything else.
After getting the Kindle I bought Orpheus Rising by Colin Bateman as my test book. The fact that I really enjoyed the book helped but it was a really nice experience to use the Kindle.
No eye strain, super long battery life and a focus on reading….no Twitter, IM or email…..just reading. The fact that the device is devoid of extra features is the reason I really like it.
My only complaint was that it was a bit unbalanced weight wise but after I got one of these badboys it feels just right and it suits the context!
A hell of a lot of people have asked me about the Kindle on trains and the like so hopefully more will give one a go…mine is called Kindle Egg.
iPad after 9 months
It has been a while since I blogged and the first post was around my thoughts on getting an iPad. 9 months on and I really haven’t used it to the extent I thought I would. While it is a fantastic little device it doesn’t really fit into how I use technology.
I spend a large proportion of my life in front of my laptop – a MacBook Pro. I can do everything on this (and a lot more) than I can with the iPad aside from the gesture/touch features. When I am travelling I really need my laptop in case I have to restart a server or upload some files. I tried taking the iPad with me to replace the laptop and it was okay but kind of annoying if I had a lot of emails to reply to.
I did take it on a break to Wales, it was handy to get information on places to visit and as a kinda Tom Tom replacement. Decent battery life, GPS, and browser/email for anything else.
But I think what I am going to try out is making it an extension of my workflow at my desk. Using the Upstand maybe in conjunction with Air Display I think I will have all to-dos or IM on the iPad. This will focus me on something specific and I can always just grab the iPad if I am out for coffee or informal meetings.
Worth a try I think….
iPad so far
Really enjoying the iPad since buying it on launch day. I have been trying to replace my laptop for travelling and I can manage absolutely fine without it so I have less to carry and more battery life!
The bits I have been using the most:
Apps
Reeder – great RSS reader, lovely interface and Google Reader support
Twitteriffic – best format for a Twitter client I have seen so far, the conversation scanning and quick picture view features are my favourite
Things – I haven’t been using this as much as I do on my laptop but it is still great to have. Hope they hurry up with cloud storage though.
InstaPaper – I send things from Reeder and other apps to InstaPaper to read later. Great interface that is super simple to use and easy to read.
Kindle – better than iBooks in the way of reading although the buying process is a little fragmented. It is scarily easy to buy but it isn’t as slick.
1Password – I was converted to this app on Mac and it is worth it for iPad/iPhone support. Means I can use nasty complex passwords!
Penultimate – fun to doodle around in this app. Making crazy pictures of badgers etc.
TabToolkit – ability to download and play any GuitarPro tab file is fantastic – really good UI.
Games
Pinball HD – good graphics and some nice tables.
FlightCtrl HD – the two player options make this worth a purchase
Godfinger – crazily addictive if you let it get to you…..
Mail is fantastic – all I am really missing is a persistent IM application and I can do everything. My only real problem with the device is the amount of money that can be spent on apps so quickly 
