WWDC - Almost Christmas in July

1. 30. Inch. LCD.

2. Dear Lord, that’s huge! I’d need to sell my girlfriend’s car to finance that — if only I could sell it without her noticing!

3. (I’m working on that…)

4. I haven’t watched the video of the keynote, but I have had a quick look at the new features in Tiger. It’s looking pretty good, but I’m not sure I’ll be upgrading. I don’t need the 64bit capabilities, I won’t use Dashboard for the same reason I stopped using Konfabulator (which, for all intents and purposes, are the same thing). I will however love to get my hands on Spotlight, the unified search interface, and Automator. I’m disappointed by the lack of Finder improvements. I’m sick of having to personally refresh a Finder window every second time I copy a file from somewhere to somewhere else, I sick of how slow and unresponsive it is when there’s a lot of files in a folder, and I’m really sick of how each window has a different view setting, and going from one to the other will change views (i.e. from icon to view to column) without warning — it’s really distracting. Major blemish on an otherwise easy to use system.

5. In other news, I’ve settled in nicely with my Tungsten C. I love being able to take what I’m reading on the computer with me — all I have to do is go to Print >> Save as PDF, then sync with the tungsten. I’m reading an 8mb PDF, filled with wacky formating and pictures, and while it’s not terribly pretty (the formatting is all over the place, but the screen is only 300×300 px after all) the text is readable and the sheer fact I can take it with me out weighs the lack of proper formatting.

6. I’ve also set up a local WebDAV server on the laptop so I can share my iCal calendars with my girlfriend (who uses the same computer). I’m trying to get her used to iCal, so I have some idea of where she might be on any given day. Not that I really need to keep track of her day in day out, but it’s really embarrassing when I call up after work and ask if she wants to go out for dinner only to be reminded that she was already having dinner out. We might live together, but neither of us have any idea what each other is doing!

7. What’s particularly interesting with the WebDAV server is that I might now be able to bypass the “wing and a prayer” approach to Mac/Windows file sharing. Now, I know they’re supposed to work, but the amount of time I’ve had it mysteriously not work is staggering. It always works with my own PCs, but strangely it fails quite often with other people’s PCs. WebDAV’ is well supported by both Windows and Mac, and hopefully that might solve any future file sharing problems.

8. Maybe Tiger will have even better support for Windows networking. I might well pay for that.

Tungsten C: initial thoughts

1. I’ve often lamented on the sad state of the PDA. I’ve complained about how current day PDAs seem to be nothing more than souped up versions of the Newton, and I’ve tried to describe where I think the concept should go. And while I still feel the PDA is a dying concept, it’s been a slow and drawn-out affair, punctuated by optimistic press releases from companies trying to make a buck in a tough market. In the abscence of my perfect PDA, I bought what I see as the best there is — the Palm Tungsten C.

2. I’ve had the Tungsten C for a few days now, and it hasn’t been disappointing. Firstly, it’s fast. Really fast. Programs load up instantly, files in a snap. Of special note is the Web Pro 3 web browser which renders pages as fast as any desktop browser I’ve used, if less accurately. And I’m talking about full size pages mind — not the cut down mobile variety.

3. The browser would be nothing without the integrated 802.11b WiFi radio. It’s a bit slow for a full size computer, but it’s blazingly fast on a PDA. The setup program is easy enough to use, but not nearly as nice as MacOS X. It’s also a little flaky, and can have problems connecting to a network if it has to use DHCP to acquire an IP address. I think this might be because the Tungsten C will hop on and off the network as is required (in an effort to conserve power) and will ask for an IP address each time it tries to connect, and my DHCP server can’t seem to deal with that too well. Allocating a static IP for it on my home network neatly sidesteps the problem.

4. Another gripe is the lack of WPA (Wireless Protected Access) support. WPA as I understand it is light years better than WEP, it’s easier to configure and that was what I had at home before the Tungsten. Even with MAC address filtering enabled I’m still a little wary of this, and I’ll be checking my log files much more often now.

5. The WiFi and browser, while good, is but a small part of the package. The real stand out stars is the screen and thumbboard. The screen is bright, and at it’s lowest setting it’s as bright as my Powerbook — praise indeed. The Palm OS graphics doesn’t do the screen justice, it isn’t until you use do a little web surfing or use Documents to Go that you see the crispness of the screen. It’s no problem reading the screen in either bright sunlight or indoors, making reading on the train quite comfortable. Pair this with a thumbboard that has nicely spaced out keys and excellent tactile feel makes this a viable mobile writing platform, something I put as top priority when shopping for this new PDA. I imagine with enough practice one could take notes in a meeting using nothing more than a Tungsten C — a feat that would be very difficult to emulate using only Graffiti.

6. Alas, it’s not perfect. The thumbboard has no lighting whatsoever, making writing in low light next to impossible. Unless you use Graffiti2. And you won’t, after being spoilt by the thumbboard. A larger oversight is the lack of integrated Bluetooth, and I can’t figure out why. It can’t be to keep the price down, since this is supposed to be Palm’s flagship (besides the Treo) product (and if you buy RRP it’s bloody expensive). The machine itself is quite big (not quite as big as the old 36xx iPaq, but close), so surely space was not an issue. It seems to be a wasted opportunity, given the increasing popularity of 3G phones with broadband speed data services, being able to use Bluetooth to connect to such a service should’ve been an important factor in the design brief. Or maybe Palm just can’t write a Bluetooth driver.

7. Still, it’s an impressive device and I’ve been very happy with my purchase. It’s fulfilled my desire for a mobile writing platform (and no, I can’t write with pen and paper. I just can’t) — in fact I wrote most of the my notes for this post with the Tungsten over the last few days, and finished it off on my Powerbook. I could’ve just as easily written the whole thing on the Tungsten, then uploaded it onto this site, but that seemed a little silly since I would be doing the uploading from home. However there’s no reason I couldn’t have done so over GPRS. For those into moblogging, this is the handheld for you.

8. It’s only been six days since I’ve got this, and I feel quite comfortable with it — a good sign. I’ll post more notes about working with the Tungsten C in a few weeks time, hopefully revealing any quirks and any Things-That-Piss-Me-Off™.

The Cat Empire, Wagamama and Supersize Me

1. Public holidays are great. I get the day off, which is great, I usually get to sleep in, which is great, and there’s usually something on, which is great. Yesterday was packed to the rafters with Way Cool Stuff, the first of which was The Cat Empire.

2. I love a band that can Entertain, and do they Entertain! They where the final act in the Darling Harbour Jazz Festival, and they weren’t the usual “Jazz Act” that such festivals usually put on. With heavy cuban influences, mixed with hip-hop, a bit of reggee and ska, they’re as infecious as the Eboli virus — guarenteed to get your feet moving. And that they did, with thousands crowding in on the pier (which were swaying under the weight of all those people, something I whould not thought was possible) and hundreds more on the expressway above. It was awesome to be in the middle of a pack of dancing, happy people, and with the heavy cuban influences it was easy to imagine that you’re in the middle of Rio during Mardi Gras, it was that much fun. The weather was sympathetic, whilst the wind had a bit of bite the clouds mostly stayed away and the crowd was treated to a spectacular sunset to which we grooved the afternoon away. Sooo nice. Photos forthcoming.

3. Following the gig we went searching for food, and tripped across Wagamama, which I’d only heard about and not known where they were. Kick Arse. i don’t care if they are a chain, Kick Arse. You want to try the dumplings. Yes, you want to try the dumplings. Yummm. All at very reasonable prices. Bugger Starbucks, I want more of these!

4. After the hunger was abated (I went for a second serve of those dumplings for dessert. They’re that good), we met more people to see Supersize Me. A documentary well worth the money — it was horrifying to see the quantity of food that can be bought, and the damage that it can inflict. One doctor after only 20 days compared Spurlock’s liver to that of Nicolas Cage’s in Leaving Las Vegas, where his character goes to Vegas to drink himself to death and is slowly pickling his liver. With fast food! Who would’ve thought? But then the size of some of those meals were truly horrendous — a Supersize Coke is 46 fl Oz which is roughly 1.3 litres, it’s not surprising so many Americans are so obese.

5. Strangely, I felt like McDonalds after the movie. I could’ve really done with a Quarter Pounder and a couple of Hash Browns….

Get your filthy fucking paws off my country!

1. The US have always liked to meddle in other country’s affairs, and sometimes even for legitimate reasons. But the criticisms from the Bush Administration directed at Labor and Latham in particular has crossed the line. Here is where we first see Howard’s intentions with the Aus-US alliance — letting a foreign power to do his lobbying for him, while he hides behind an underwhelming trade agreement and weak tax cuts to ride his way into a fourth term. It reminds me of all the movies where the villain’s lackeys follow because one day their boss might give them a bit of land to rule for themselves.

2. Fuck you, Mr Bush, for trying to intervene in our democratic processes. For a country that supposedly is a symbol of freedom and democracy, you seem very autocratic to me.

Gadget weakness strikes again

1. Despite many ramblings about how I don’t think PDAs will last for very much longer, that it’s a dying concept, that at the end of the road is a much better device blah blah blah — I’ve fallen in love with another one. I’m very seriously looking at the Palm Tungsten C, which I spent some time with yesterday. Very, very nice. Whilst not as sexy as some of HP’s offerings, or indeed as pretty as my battered old Sony Clie SJ20 (black and white screen baby! Who needs colour?), the integrated thumboard rocks my world — I can type reasonably fast with few mistakes making it a nice mobile writing platform. The built in WiFi radio is also very, very cool.

2. So, looks like I’ll be buying yet another PDA. I still think it’s just a transitional concept, but it seems to be a very long transition. In the meantime, I’ll just let my wallet do the talking and see where that might lead me….

Show me the updates!

1. Yeah, it’s been slow going. I’ve been lazy, but I’ve not updated for a while, but there’s a good reason for that — there’s a new design coming up. There’s too many problems with the current design, and I seek to address those in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’m looking at the various associated issues, like whether or not to update to the new version of Movable Type. I realise that Six Apart has to start making some money. On the other hand, I think the prices they are charging for their Personal License is pretty harsh — considering the sort of limitations they are imposing. Not more than five blogs and no more than one author for 70 bucks (US mind, which is getting close to the 100 dollar mark Australian) is too much to pay. If it was for, say, $50 US then I’d buy it, no questions asked. Considering the version of MT I’m running now is perfectly adequate for my needs I really wonder if I want to upgrade, since I can’t really figure out what extra features the $70 buys me. Still, I want to support the company because I really do think they do a great job and it’s a great piece of software they are producing. What to do, what to do?

2. Lately I’ve been thinking more about the convergence issue that I’ve been preoccupied with for a while now. I’ve never been fan of the mobile phone cum digital camera cum PDA. I just don’t think it’s entirely practical — too many compromises have to be made and the entry price would be too high. But that’s not to say there isn’t a market for them, and that I might not buy one in the future. But it has to be because it’s functional, not a fashion decision. I’ll write more on that soon, I promise.

3. In the meantime, today is the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. I don’t remember much of it, but I do remember my Dad fuming and my Mum crying. Not much more needs to be said.