Corner Geeks 5 Part 3: WWDC 2011 - iCloud

Check out Justin Lee’s keypoint summary of the keynote or just refer to Apple’s iCloud page or the features page for their info about iCloud.

Brief Show Notes

  • What is cloud?
    • Save once. Uploaded and Distributed ‘everywhere’ (i.e. all your devices)
  • 9 uses:
    1. Contacts
    2. Calendar
    3. Mail
    4. Apps Store
    5. iBooks
    6. Backup
      • Daily wifi backups
      • Music / Apps / Books
      • Camera Roll
      • Device Settings
      • App Data
    7. Docs
    8. Photos
    9. iTunes
  • 1,2,3,7) Contacts / Calendar / Mail / Docs:
    • similar to Android and Google or Exchange
    • change once, push everywhere (locally stored vs cloud stored for Google for docs at least)
    • Google at least can access from web. Apple to find out
  • 4,5,9) Apps / iBooks / iTunes
    • Buy once, deploy everywhere or look through purchase history. click to download
    1. Daily cloud backup (huge I think. I agree. Google could have done this for Android but doesnt. I want to rant about Android here haha.)
    1. Photo stream
    • Syncs photos taken anywhere to all attached devices
      • iOS Devices
      • PCs
      • Apple TV
    • Like Eye-Fi. kind of but requires Internet. Eye-Fi can be local transfer to PC.
    • 1000 photos stored on the device (to save permanently to device, move pic to album)
    • 30 Days limit for all shots on cloud
    • Photos all on PC all saved (iPhoto integeration?)
    • I think this kind of functionality is useful for photographers. I’m suprised not a lot of Bruniean photographers use Eye-Fis.
    1. Documents in Cloud / iCloud API (There could be an actual iDisk like thing for normal documents?)
    • iCloud API: Looks like dropbox but seems to be like it’s centered on sandboxes per app basis?
    • Obvious ones are things like Pages and Keynote
    • Being able to sync settings for apps.
      • Game saves
      • To have something like Kindle’s Book resume thing.
      • Hopefully alternative browsers can setup something like Google Sync. Syncs my tabs and bookmarks. Please make this happen.
  • Similar to other exiting services:
  • Possible Issues:
    • Will there be sharing? Or only to personal account?
    • Data caps / be sure not to use all your data quota and end up paying
    • Do we get offline backup?
    • All your data, are belong to fruit
  • 5GB storage space (unsure which files are categorized in the 5GB, but music / photos not included in the quota)
  • Free, No ads
  • Available in the Fall (most likely September) but some features available now with iTunes update on Mac/PC or App Store update on iDevices

Corner Geeks 5 Part 2: WWDC 2011 - iOS5

Check out Justin Lee’s keypoint summary of the keynote or just refer to Apple’s iOS5 page or the features page for their info about iOS5.

Brief Show Notes

  • Lots of ‘finally’s
    • Notification Centre
      • Similar to Android: swipe down from top to see all notifications
      • But done better than Android
        • When notification comes in, shows snippet of info at top of screen then disappears
        • Notifications shown on lock screen
        • Direct access to act on notification from lock screen (swipe notification to access)
      • Also has 10 msg limit per app. MobileNotifier (the jailbreak app) has more. UI could be better on mobilenotifier though.
    • PC-less activation (makes it more of a standalone device and with iCloud could be a fuller laptop replacement)
    • iTunes-less
    • Wireless sync
    • Camera Upgrades.
      • Shutter button.
      • Launch from lockscreen (Double-tap home button and click on icon)
      • Crop photos, red-eye reduction, one-click enhancement filter thing (auto white balance, levels, etc similar to Preview on OS X)
      • Can create albums on iOS!
    • Delta Updates!! (no more 600+MB per update) Over the air!
  • Nice to have
    • Reading list (similar to instapaper / Read It Later): only Safari? no where else to access?
    • Reader view
    • Reminders (similar to Locale / Tasker for Android but those are commercial apps)
    • News stand: for magazine subscriptions.
    • Twitter Integration.
      • Twitter’s trying to be what OpenID wants to be? Online Identity?
      • Syncs Twitter Photo to contacts. (similar to what Android does)
      • Nice that it allows user to try diff apps without relogin (Though currently this still doesn’t work yet. Apps need to rewrite their apps. Even official Twitter App)
      • Twitter sharing in Photos / apps nice
      • Android sharing superior as doesn’t have to wait for Google to implement new share options: app needs to support receiving data
    • Photo editing
    • iPad
  • iMessage (lot of focus on security. mention encryption)
    • Replaces iOS SMS app. ie: could be seamless for normal users.
    • Allows iPod and iPads to use. Not sure about Mac, but it’ll be great if it could. (WhatsApp! not available for non 3G / cellulare devices like iPod Touch / iPad WiFi only)
    • Alternatives
    • Competitor Ecosystem Alternatives
      • Google: GTalk
      • Microsoft: Skype?
      • RIM: BBM
  • Some stuff not mentioned on keynote but is pretty cool
    • Typing shortcuts / macros. ie: the default on the OS was “omw” would autocomplete to “On my way”
    • Some UI improvements. Toggles in options.
    • Custom vibrations for incoming calls.
    • LED light can be used as notifications (older phones have had this: on Android side depends on manufacturer)
  • iOS5 beta and jailbreak
  • Available in the Fall (September earliest?)

Corner Geeks 5 Part 1: WWDC 2011 - Lion

This week @mfirdaus and I talk about this week’s WWDC 2011. We will split this in 3 parts: Lion, iOS5 and iCloud as the discussion got pretty long. If you want to watch the video of the keynote click here but also do check out Justin Lee’s keypoint summary of the keynote or just refer to Apple’s what’s new section for their info about Lion.

Show Notes for WWDC 2011 Keynote on Lion

  • Bringing iOS to desktop: Trying to convert PC users using iOS devices to a Mac
  • User Interaction Changes
    • Multi touch gestures
    • Reverse scrolling, Smooth zooming. Scroll bars no longer unless scroll (iOS-like behaviours)
    • Emphasis on fullscreen app support (more for developers: OS supports fullscren better )
    • Launchpad: iOS-like launcher for apps
    • Mission Control: Can see everything in other spaces. Can manage spaces easier.
  • Airdrop: File sharing done easy/right for intranet (transfers encrypted)
  • Document versioning & Auto Save
    • Could be big for consumers and offices.
    • But will work with only iWork or all apps? (app needs to implement or an OS native feature)
    • Visual comparison similar to Time Machine interface: Can actually view old document to copy and paste
    • No need to manually save: new save as a new version
    • Delta saving so it saves only the changes (to save space)
  • Resume: Saving of program state: inspectors, window position automatically saved and restored when application reopened
  • Apps / MacStore
    • Delta Update
    • In-app purchases
    • Push Notifications
    • Apps install on all authorized comps: Buy once, deploy to all authorized computers. Good for consumers
  • New Mail app with updates
  • 250+ new features
    • Mostly are incremental
    • Some notable ones:
      • Full Disk Encryption
      • Quicktime: merge and rotate videos
      • Quicktime: record selected region
  • Price: USD$30. ~4GB only available on the Mac Store

Corner Geeks 4: New Media & An Introduction to Live Streaming

Corner Geeks Episode 4 is live and this week we’re talking about New Media and give an introduction to Live Streaming. In the future we will cover Live Streaming in more details including the setup we used for live steaming the Ran8adidas event at ICC at the end of June.

Related Links

The Nokia N900 Icecast Server

This is the Icecast setup to stream radio from a Nokia N900 as discussed in Corner Geeks Episode 2. Follow the instructions below or watch the video below (direct YouTube link) http://youtube.com/watch?v=iEGkdfiFjME

Setting up an Icecast Server on an N900

  1. Root the N900
    • Go to Application manager»Application catalogs»New
    • Write “maemo.org extras-testing” for catalog name
    • Give web address as “http://repository.maemo.org/extras-testing”
    • Enter “fremantle” as the distribution
    • Enter “free non-free” for components
    • Download rootsh from Application Manager.
  2. Open Terminal
  3. “sudo gainroot”
  4. Install icecast via “apt-get install icecast2”
  5. Search for gstreamer lame plugin: “apt-cache search gstream lame”
  6. Installer the gstreamer lame plugin: “apt-get install gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse” (this may change, just the search results from the previous steps)
  7. Start the Icecast server with the following command (this combines starting a Icecast server and sending audio via a source client all in one command “gst-launch pulsesrc ! audioconvert ! lame quality=9 ! shout2send mount=/listen.mp3 port=8000 password=YourPass ip=ServerIP"You can change the mount, port, password, ip values depending on your setup.
  8. The Icecast server is now up and running (assuming there are no errors / typos) and this will stream any audio playing from the device.

To stream Radio on your Icecast Server

  1. Install the FM Radio application from http://maemo.org/downloads/product/Maemo5/fmradio/
  2. Open the application and tune into the correct frequency
  3. Start the Icecast server

A First Look at the Acer Iconia Tab A500

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 is the first Honeycomb tablet I’ve seen here in Brunei and is the first proper 10" Android tablet. As with most Android tablets the specs are somewhat typical: 10" (1280x800) with dual cameras running on the nVidia Tegra2. @mfirdaus and I managed to play around with the device for over an hour and below is the video overview we took of it. Below the video are further thoughts of the device and sample photos and videos from the device itself.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YpYnSVSRTzI (watch on YouTube)

Full specifications (from Concepts and Acer specification pages)

  • Android Honeycomb(3.0)
  • 10.1” (1280x800) HD Touchscreen
  • 10.24" x 7" x 0.52"
  • 10 points Capacitive Multitouch screen
  • 1Ghz nVidia Tegra2 Dual Core processor
  • 32GB built-in capacity
  • Dual Camera (2mp front, 5mp back)
  • GPS, E-Compass, 6-axis Gyroscope G-sensor (auto rotation)
  • Long life 3260mAh x 2 battery
  • Dual display (HDMI output) (micro HDMI port)
  • microUSB expansion slot (up to 32gb)
  • Physical USB port (Full-sized USB port)
  • Dolby Mobile dual speakers
  • Acer Clear.fi app
  • Acer Social Jogger app
  • Acer Photo Browser app
  • Preloaded games (NFS Shift, Let’s Golf, Hero of Sparta)

Weight & Size I have always thought 10" tablets were a bit bigger than an iPad but in fact they are similar sizes: The A500 is longer and thicker but narrower than an iPad 2 (A500: 26cm x 17.7cm x 1.33cm, iPad2: 24.1cm x 18.6cm x 0.88cm). However the A500 is relatively heavy at 765g (iPad 2 is 601g), thus if you’re holding on the device it can get tiring.

Screen The 10" screen was responsive and we didn’t feel at real / noticeable / annoying lag or unresponsiveness. At a resolution of 1280x800, that is the same resolution as a lot of 13" or 14" laptops and is of higher resolution compared to an iPad: this means when browsing you should see more content. Speaking of browsing, with the great browser which has tabs and the ability to install Flash, this would make a great web browsing device.

Honeycomb and Apps Refer to the previous post on A First Taste of Honeycomb (Android 3.0): in short there are not many apps optimized for Honeycomb and the large screen, but regular apps can still run.

Connectivity The killer hardware features are the microSD card slot, full sized USB port and micro HDMI.

The microSD card slot enables you to add storage without buying a new device. If you’re on a budget, just buy the lowest capacity device and add microSD cards for your media (do note that microSD cards could be slower than internal storage on device, but is probably cheaper and can be transferred to other devices in the future).

The full sized USB port means you can connect a regular USB keyboard to the device and start typing straight away if you really need to type out of an email / do word processing. This will easily make the A500 into a productivity device with the proper applications. The USB port also means that you can copy files to and from a regular thumb drive like a regular computer which is a great feature. I’ve heard that USB card readers do not work, but I have no confirmation on this.

The micro HDMI port means you can connect the device to a projector / HDTV with display mirroring (display on both device and projector/TV). While this is a great option, I still think an iPad 2 trumps with the VGA dongle because VGA is still very widely used and HDMI is not. For people wishing to use the device for presentations, I would think an iPad 2 with the VGA dongle would be much easier to work with. I don’t believe there is an easy way to convert an HDMI signal to VGA without an external box, which means added cost and added items to bring.

Cameras The front facing camera is a 2 megapixel while the rear camera is 5 megapixels (and also has a flash) however the picture and sound quality wasn’t stellar: samples below. Do note that the device was covered with clear plastic which would affect both the video and audio quality but I wouldn’t expect quality to be much better than what we got. Audio quality is pretty disappointing. Photos are stored in JPG format while videos in 3GP (H264/AAC).

Photos (jpg)

  • Rear: 5 megapixels (2592 × 1944)

  • Front: 2 megapixels (1600 × 1200)

Videos (3gp format with H264 video and AAC audio)

Battery Life We could not take the device home to test the battery life of the device but below lists battery tests from other reviews but most reviews say you can easily get an full days worth without issue.

Price At B$728, the 32GB A500 is priced cheaper than a 32GB iPad 2 (B$798), but do note that a 16GB iPad 2 is cheaper (B$668). IMHO Concepts should have brought in the 16GB version of the Iconia Tab to undercut all iPad 2 prices because with most Android tablets you can add expansion via microSD cards.

Summary As a consumer device, this is a great device for web browsing, reading and watching movies. If you have TVs/monitors with HDMI input, this is a possible media center device with a purchase of a microHDMI to HDMI cable or a microHDMI to standard HDMI converter. As an office device, this is a viable option is you have HDMI monitors / projectors. The USB port option is great for using external keyboards and transferring of files. Overall Honeycomb is still maturing and is hard to convince people with an Android tablet unless there is a particular function that they need/want that is available on Android or a specific tablet as the iPad, with iOS, has the advantage of apps. Would I get one myself? I doubt so, as I’m looking more of a 7" device with USB host, VGA out (highly unlikely thus maybe HDMI out) and possibly 3G to wirelessly tether via a wireless hotspot so I may even look out for the Iconia Tab A100 which is a 7" version that is coming out in a couple of months.

Other Useful Links

Corner Geeks 3: Portal 2

We talk about Portal 2, one of the best games of this year and one of the games that has captured people’s hearts and minds (mine included) with the great voice acting, humour and songs that started with Portal 1. Great great songs written by Jonathan Coulton and sung by Ellen McLain

P.S. Portal 2 ringtones are free (for now?) so go download them now!

Other Links:

Still Alive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ljFaKRTrI

Want You Gone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVVZaZ8yO6o

A First Taste of Honeycomb (Android 3.0)

**Update 1: added “Other Notes” section**

So last Friday I when I saw the Acer Iconia Tab A500 lying there in Concepts, I just had to get my grubby paws on it and experience Honeycomb first hand. I’ve read about it, seen a few videos of it, but there is nothing like playing with it in person. I had to say that I was pleasantly surprised and felt that I wanted to get a tablet. Take a look at the Honeycomb Overview video that mfirdaus and I manage to take of below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_9fUeA8ww

Honeycomb is Google’s attempt to make a version of Android desgined for tablets and it gives Android a very different and fresh feel to it. It took me a while to get comfortable with it after getting kind of lost initially using the device (i.e. it’s not as simple/simplistic as iOS on the iPad). It has the typical Android homescreen which can be populated with applications shortcuts and widgets which all quick access to information right on the homescreen. With the Android 3.1 upgrade providing resizable widgets would allow users to fill a homescreen full of your emails, Twitter timeline and Facebook wall: it’s like your own Tweetdeck columns for all the stuff that is important to you.

Browser & Flash: A fuller web experience The browser seems superb with tabs and looks like Chrome/Chromium (my browser of choice). The possibility of playing Flash is really great to me as it provides you a fuller web experience compared to Flash-less browsers where you may come to a page that just doesn’t have HTML5 video or some random Flash navigations. Do note I said the ‘possibility’ of playing Flash because it isn’t available in the Market. This is due to a geographic location restrictions where the developer does not select the app as available to all countries (more of this in a future post). You can always find the APK installer online, but that is always a dangerous option as there is a possibility that the APK is malware or has been modified to include malware on it. Thus it is important to download it from trusted sources.

Connectivity: USB Host & HDMI The 3.1 update to Honeycomb is especially interesting as it provides better USB host support. This will provide Honeycomb tablets will a greater possibility to replace laptops because you can transfer documents to USB drives and hook up standard keyboard and mice to it. I can imagine going to work, docking your tablet and using it throughout the day for work and when you’re done, disconnect everything and head back home. Currently Android 3.0 on the Iconia Tab supports USB drives and keyboards and I presume that this will be the same for other tablets with USB ports. With most tablets having HDMI ports, they can even be used for presentations and at home on your HDTVs. The only problem I see here is that projectors will typically always have a VGA port, not an HDMI port so this could be limiting.

Apps A lot of the success of a platform is in the apps and since Honeycomb is still new there aren’t many Honeycomb optimized apps that take full advantage of the bigger screen and the Honeycomb action bar. This should fade with time as developers start taking advantage of Honeycomb devices. Do note that the older non-Honeycomb optimized Android apps still can work with Honeycomb (however this is not a certainty) and when they do work they would probably stretch to fill in the space depending on how the interface was design.

Stability & Usability I’ve heard that Honeycomb can be a bit unstable with applications, such as the browser, crashing; however I did not experience such crashes in over an hour of playing with the device. Honeycomb is still new and maturing as they work out the kinks and tweak Honeycomb to be a better experience for the user: I found that there was quite a bit of finger/hand travel just to activate and navigate around the system which I guess could get annoying and tiring after longer periods of use.

Other Notes The low application storage problem seems to be gone in Honeycomb as the whole 32GB of the Acer Iconia Tab A500 that we played with, listed the entire 32GB as available for applications and files, as opposed Android devices that have only a certain much smaller space dedicated for app.Forgot to show it on the video / take a photo but this is a very welcome change and solves the biggest problem with Android for devices with internal memory.

Summary All in all, I’m excited to see what Honeycomb matures into as it tries to be a competitor to iOS on the iPad. While I feel iOS on the iPad is a better experience for now, I feel Honeycomb will be better for the future. I just hope that it doesn’t always stay in the future and that the future and come quickly to fruition.

Corner Geeks 2: Icecast

We talk about Icecast: the streaming server that can serve audio and now even video and used in productions such as TWiT.am

Source Clients are needed to connect to the server to provide the audio to stream out. Some that we used are listed below:

Other 3rd party software for Icecast is available here and check out the Icecast Streaming Media Server Forum for any queries