D10 Interview with Tim Cook

Tim Cook is the man deemed fit take over the reins at Apple after the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve himself chose Tim as his successor. When Tim's name appeared in my news streams, like many people, I said... who? This was a name I hadn't heard of but down the line we discover since 1998 he has been there in the background learning and waiting for his time to shine. This is a great look into who Tim his and after watching this I think he is the man to take Apple forward.

In the interview Tim shares his perspective on where Apple is and where the company is going. He also talks about the culture of Apple that Steve started and shares his final day with Steve and tells the story of how Steve left explicit instructions for Tim and the Apple creatives not to ask "What would Steve do", just do what right. This interview was from a cpouple of weeks ago. It's interesting watching this with the hindsight of having watched Apples WWDC keynote from last Monday as some of his answers, or rather none answers illude to some of what was shown their.

If your interested in Apple, innovation or just inspiration into how a business show be run I recommend you check out this small peak into the Apple culture.

Whats D10? D is a conference that happens every year put on by respected AllThingsD.com, a Web site devoted to news, analysis and opinion on technology, the Internet and media. The 10 part simply means the 10th conference. The conference is noted for it's in depth interview with some of the most influential people in tech some of which are know for the avoidance to speaking publicly in this manner which I think speak to the credit of this event. The most noted interviews at a D conference where a series of interview with Steve Jobs one of which was Steve and Bill gates together, awesome to watch. I'll be sharing more interviews from D10 that i find interesting so watch this space.

What do you think of the interview? Do you think Tim is the right man for the job? Do you think Tim will continue the culture Steve started and drive Apple to great innovation? 

Enjoy

G  

iPad in da house

I've increase my apple family by one, I now own a shiny new white iPad 16gig and surprise surprise I love it… Shocker. I make this statement not to state the obvious but because I expected a lot from this device it has and it delivers, and  them some!

I've been living with this new piece of tech for 3 weeks now and I already use it in most aspects of my personal and working life. This seemingly simple little device opens up new way of doing everything, watching TV, Reading news, Catching up on blogs & magazines, gaming, catching up on email, producing spreadsheet, taking meeting notes the list goes on and on and on. So with that in mind here's my 1st impressions after a short time with my new best friend...

Form factor

The 3rd generation iPad is thin, holding it in my hand it's hard to believe so much can be done with so little. It's a little weighty after holding it for a while but a trade off I'm more than willing to make for the awesome battery life. Better get down to the gym and work on throughs guns!

Battery life

I charge it every night and that's always been plenty to get me through the day which usually involves 2-3hrs of streaming video and 4-5+hrs of web browsing and gaming.

Spec

I went with the 16gig WiFi only model. I chose this model based on cost alone being the cheapest model, big mistake! Being so used to using an always connected iPhone for the last 3 1/2 years has made me come to expect some things from IOS. Case in point, I'm really missing notifications from the apps especially on email. Having to hunt for an available WiFi when I'm out and about, usually at work, is a plain in the ass to say the least. I can tether to my iPhone but it's not an elegant solution having to make the two devices talk to each other every the I just want to check email or sync Evernote, not convenient. 3G is the way forward next time.

As for the hard drive 16 gig does not go far at all! I very quickly filled up my drive space in just one day! I can be an app whore but I was strict with myself and kept it relatively low. Then I added roughly 10 albums and a couple of movies and I was full! none of my podcast were even added not good. I'm finding myself having to manage the storage very closely! When I take it on holiday later this year I'm going to think very carefully what I'm going to put onto it. One thing I should point out is I have photo stream turned on. Because I recently did a shoot using a more powerfull camera my stream is full of hi res image taking up around 4gig of my memory. I love shooting photos and photo stream is awesome for my work flow and so I can't be without but if your a photographer and want to use this in your work then your going to need to go big on the old memory. 

Screen

Retina display, you've heard and read loads about it but let me simply say is georgeous! Photo's look great but I tend to notice it more in websites, text looks sharper along with the images. 

Photography

The camera on the iPad was never a strong contender in previous models but in the 3rd itteration they stuck in the same lens that the 4g iPhone uses. It's not bad, while i'm never going to be doing photo shoots with this thing if i'm stuck in a pinch to snap a photo of something then this will more that do. While I wouldn't be using my iPad for shooting I most defiantly will be using it for editing a sharing. Photo stream makes getting my photo's, especially iPhone photo's, just about effortless and using iPhoto and other apps editing and sharing not only easy but fun too. 

Video

Watching video is awesome amazing retina display is a dream. There a tones of apps to get video onto your iPad I have a whole screen dedicated to them and all without downloading to your iPad it's self taking us valuable space, of course you need a good WiFi connection to make it work. I'll talk more on the various apps and what they do in later posts.

Web Browsing

9 time out of 10 i'll go to my iPad before the macbook or iMac just because the experience is so much better, websites look better on the retina display and browsing using a touch screen UI just seems so natural. Web pages load lightening fast and because it's so portable it's always close to hand. 

Apps

Now this is a blog post all of it's own, no serval blog post all of it's own. Needless to say this is where iPad really shines apps are the gateways to everything, you name it and there really is an app for that! Apps that i've been using on my iPhone for years seem basic compared to there iPad counterparts in both functionality and design. I'll be following section up with more posts very soon. 

Newstand

Newstand is great, its the one stop place for you to subscribe and manage all your favourite magazines. I've been reading some of the various magazines on offer such as Wired, Empire and PC Magazines. All of which take there print editions of there mag and created iPad versions creative interactive version of them. I done think i'l' be buying paper a magazine again. Magazines are available on a subscription bases or there are per item options.

Keyboard

The keyboard is surprisingly easy to type on despite being software and not hardware, most of this post was written on my iPad! It also has a simple dictation function which allows you to speak what you want to type and it converts it to text. It's a little strange to get used to to begin with but once you do it's pretty cool and surprisingly accurate. 

Summary

My new iPad really has changed the way I work and relax I really wouldn't be without it, i'm a little ashamed to say my iphone has been getting neglected. I really can see why sales of this awesome little gadget has greatsales numbers. They can be pricy I know but the good news is that older version can be picked up cheap and cheap, the iPad 2 is pritty much the same and the 3rd gen the main difference being the retina display. I can't recomened this enough, once you've played with one for a day or two you will find yourself wounder how you survived without once for all this time.

This post is just a very small summary of what I found so far. I will be following up with multiple posts about various aspects about iPad and iPhone and other IOS releasted things. If your not into apple you might like to take the blog out of your bookmarks. Just giving you fair warning now

Thanks for Reading and don't go changin'

G

Peace out Steve...

Once I a while a great man comes around and changes things in such a profound way without you even realising it. Early Thursday morning I woke up earlier than normal and as I opened my eyes my phones screen lit up with a notification, the words simply read 'Steve Jobs has passed away'. A little selfishly my 1st thought was I hate it when i'm right :o(.

The inevitable

The writing had been on the wall that this day might come sooner than anyone wouldn't wish for, the biggest clue was when Steve stepped down as the CEO of Apple just a few weeks ago. My thoughts at the time were sad. Sad that the inspiration for all my favourite tech would no longer be at the helm of the company that produces them. But more than that, I was sad for Steve himself because I think anyone who knew anything about the type of man he was knew that he would only step back when he absolutely had to. Putting the clues together didn't take a genius. I remember thinking it must be hard when your life has been building a company from which you can create not only amazing products but products that change the world in countless ways and now you have to simply step back he clearly lived and breathed Apple to the point where Steve and Apple were one in the same. Against my better judgement i'm going to be more honest than I probably should at the risk as sounding like a sad act to some people. When I read those words I went straight to the laptop to check if this claim was legitimate, I didn't want this to be true but it was. As I looked through the various posts reporting this tragic news on just about every news sources and blog I realised they were not ony reporting but they all were morning the loss. It was then I realised it hit me harder than I would have ever expected. I was truly upset about the passing of a man who I didn't even meet? Never before have I ever really felt the passing of a public figure. 

Life

I've been trying to put my finger on why and the answer is lots of reasons. Without even realising it Steve has been one of the most influential people in my life in subtle and not so subtle ways. The man's life is an inspirational story he created the Apple computer in his garage, from there he re-invented the computer by creating the 1st small computer thus creating the PC for the home. Of course you now know almost no home is without. Famously Steve enticed, the then head of Pepsi Cola, John Scully with the most quoted phase of Steve's life "Do you want to carry on making sugared water or do you want to come with me and change the world?" Steve's tenacious approach and unyielding needed to follow his vision saw him ousted out of his own company! At this point some of us might call it a day there but Steve didn't stop. He went on to found his own computer company NeXt, creating a machine on which the program we now know as the world Wide Web was written on. Steve was brought back into a now struggling Apple, but not before making Pixar the leader in film animation. Back where he belonged he not only re-invented how we listen to music through the invention of the ipod but the music industry as a whole through iTunes. It would take a little time to catch on but downloading music was the way forward. Not done there Steve then showed the world something that will again effect the lives of everyone whether you buy it or not... The iphone. Look around at the phone market today, then market leaders Nokia, Blackberry and Motorola are not the names on peoples lips as they skip to the phone shop. Any new popular phone follows the same model laid out by the iphone, high contrast touch screen, good quality camera on the back, VGA camera on the front, capable of surfing the web in all its glory and a very intuitive UI. Surely Steve can rest easy now? Nope, changing the computing world once is not enough, Steve brought to the world his final legacy the ipad. People didn't get it at 1st, they thought it was just a gimmick, then they got there hands on it. Now, whether they realise it or not, this way of computing is the future, large desktop PC's will become, to use Steve's analogy, the trucks of the computing world doing the heavy work of industry like rendering movies or graphic design. Smaller devices like the ipad will be used by the majority, no keyboard or mouse just one screen and a finger easy peasy.

Legacy

Steve has clearly been preparing for a time when he would no longer be around. Over the past couple of years he's been molding the senior management team into something that will continue to deliver what he started. They've been tested on the stage as well to see if they bring the magic that Steve does in his product announcements, an essential part to the Apple marketing strategy. Ramping up his efforts he hired the dean of Yale School of Management Joel Podolny to oversee his internal project Apple university. This will ensure all new Apple employee's understand the culture and value Steve used to create his company and live his life. Steve took to the stage one last time earlier this year at WWDC to announce IOS 5.0, that same day he showed the world his last gift to Apple computer it's self, the new Apple campus affectionately know as the spaceship. This will be a place that will define Steve's vision and inspire all that see and work within it's curved glass walls to design and build something magnificent. Even though we know Steve has done everything he can to leave us and his company in the best possible hands to make his visions live on, I can't help thinking that in future products to come, that little extra bit of attention to detail that has made Steve a part of each of his products, will be missing. It's often something we can't put our finger on but what sets any other product apart from an Apple product. I truly hope I'm wrong, there's both something sad and impressive in that thought.

Influencer

Steve has influenced me not only in my personal life with his various cool tech and gadgets but in my professional life too. He's a testament to the idea that it's not about going to university and towing the line and fitting in, it's about having faith in yourself and your vision no matter how crazy it may seem to people. The video above of Steve giving a speech at Stanford University puts across far more poetically and simply that life is about doing what you love. A philosophy I believe in whole heartedly though i'm sad to say not one I follow perhaps as much as I should. And lets not forget there's much to learn in how to run a business regardless of what that business may be. For example thanks to his shrewd marketing, carefully planned out product releases and an ability to have people on the edge for their seats for a product announcement Steve can/could create wild speculation, mass hype and desperation without realising a single detail before an Apple event day. I've asked the question once and i'll ask it again, name another phone release that has people camping outside of stores for weeks and queues for miles on launch day just for a phone? Genius in every sense of the word.  

Thank you

I'm frustrated writing this blog post because I know no matter what words I write they wont do justice to Steve's accomplishments but before I sign off I just want to say to Steve if you can see me typing into my macbook with a heavy heart..

The world before you came and the world you left are completely two different things. It's perhaps the finest honor that the way I like most people learned of your passing was using a device you created. You left us with a new way of living and left me and countless other inspired to go out into the world and do what you love. The world really is a better place having had you in it. Hopefully I can be half the man you were. The people you have influenced and the things they do are all your 'one more thing.'

Without even realising it Steve Jobs to me was a real living hero that I've sady lost before I could fully appreciate that fact.

Thanks for reading, hopefully whether your an Apple fan or not you can appreciate the man who will now become a legend. 

G

It's that time of year again...

Once a year I get very very excited! It's a special time of year were people of all walks of life come together to celebrate a joyous occasion. They will go to bed early the day before getting a good nights sleep in preparation of the big day ahead. All the excitement culminating in the receiving of something very special.

NO i'm not talking about Christmas, that's for kids! I'm talking about something much cooler, the launch day of the new iphone! Whilst there is no release date or even confirmation a new phone is about to be released, tech blogs are on fire regurgitating any wild rumour they hear on a daily basis. Unless you've been doing peace work in a war torn country or simply you have an actual life, you would have heard that invitations have been sent out for an Apple event being held on there own campus on Tuesday 4th October. This my friends can only mean one thing, it's time for them to announce the next iphone! BOOM :D 

The invitations simply read "Let's talk iphone". Brilliant, you've really got to admire the Apple marketing department as they really know how to create hype through saying very little. This however could mean so many things, not necessarly an brand new device but it could just be about ISO 5.0 update for example. Of course any Apple fan would bet their 1st born that a new phone is about to be released but will it be a semi upgrade release in the form of an iphone 4S or a more substantial iphone 5 launch? We are about to find out but my money is on the latter.  So as every tech blog in world worth it's .COM domain name is doing, I thought I would give you a little heads up about the various rumours floating around and add my 2cents in. Here we go... 

• Faster - Not really stunning news but always welcome. The new phone will almost definitely contain the latest A5 processor currently running in the ipad 2. This ones a no brainer but hey ho there you go. 
• Assistant - Now this one has me very excited if it becomes real. In a nutshell the new phone is expected to have some very sophisticated voice recognition software inside, very similar to the one found in android powered phones. This function is said to be deeply tied into core functions of the phone such as the GPS, web browser, email, phone and SMS programs. This will mean you can talk to your phone to carry a wide range of tasks such as compose and send an text message, dial a contact or conceivably book a hotel room all by using just your voice. The likelihood of this one is looking good as Apple bought the company pioneering this technology, Siri some time ago but no results have been seen from this acquisition, just yet. Since then there have also been rumors that Apple are trying to tie up a partnership deal with Nuance who are market leaders in this field. Slightly bad news on this excitiing new feature is that it will only be availible on the new hand set, so if you want your own personal atomus assisant you have to upgrade... shocker ;0)
• New design - Tones of photo's from manufacturing companies have been posted on the interwebs depicting spare parts for the new handset which clearly show that the new iphone will be a different form factor. Most speculation is around the new iphone being thinner with a tapered back. Some evidence is suggesting the new handset will have a large 4.5' screen but the jury is still out on that one, whilst a bigger screen would be nice the extra power required and subsequent reduction in standby time might be a deal breaker.  I'm a fan of the current glass front and back design but I get why there is a call for this to be changed. There's only so many time you can pay to have the glass back replaced because you keep dropping your phone 3 feet. My favorite photo is the artist impression photo's from Mac Rumours if one of these came into being I would be a happy chappy. 
• Better Camera - Another obvious one but one i'm very pleased to hear about.  I love using my iphone to snap photo especially on instagram. I don't think Apple themselves expected their iphone to become such a prolific contributor to the world of photography.  Quiet rightly the iphone camera is considered to be the best smart phone camera and better than some point-n-shoots. A higher resolution camera can only help with the adoption for photography enthusiast.

Some people make an event out of The Oscars or even the final of XFactor, for me my Oscar party is the Apple announcement.  I'll take over any device that has a screen in my home and fill them with live blogs from the event from different sources and any bootleg live stream's from a brave developer in the audience who has the stones to face his webcam at the stage. I know it's seriously sad but I love it.  Watching as the rumor mill goes into overdrive, as we lead up to the offical announment event is crazy. Every tech blog trys to out do each other with who can produce the most fantastical rediculous rumors. Then the tech pundits spend hours debating the merits of each rumour exploring a) the likelihood of said rumour coming true b) would it be a good thing if it happened. Of course after all the hype the announcment comes! The new iphone is unveiled faster, shinnnier and slimmer than it's predicesor. We must have it my precious, and as we follow the breaking news with baited breath we wait to hear not the price, the price doesn't matter, we just want to hear WHEN Mr Steve Jobs, When!? (moment of silence for his Jobsness stepping down as CEO).

See we've not even got up to buying the dam thing yet and we're having a ball. Launch day is another big day. Fan's will go down super early. Some will have been queuing for almost a week just to have the prestigious award of being 1st in-line. Silly Americans don't they know Apple stores in Austrailia have been open sellig iphone for hours by now? The whole thing fasinates me. When do we ever see a line of perfectly inteligent, learned people queuing outside an O2 store in the pouring rain since 2am just for a phone!? and don't forget the bloody Morarola Razor was massivly popular. And i'd also like to make a bet now to all you iphone users out there especially the ones with an iphone 4 in your pocket, right now your thinking this is the greatest phone in the world with absolutely nothing wrong with it. But once that new phone is released the once faithful companion will now become a clunky piece of junk ;0)

So I know where I'd be tomorrow eveing where will you be? having tea, watching TV, problably doing something much more normal but if you are interested in following the event here's some places i'll be keeping an eye in for breaking news.

• Twit.TV - Live commentry from the king of tech Leo Laporte from his personal little empire.
• MacRumors - no 1 stop shop for all things apple related. Macroumors will be live blogging from the event
• Engadget - Another live blog. If your a tech fan then you already know this site.
• Twitter - Of course there's good old twitter the river of all realtime info. Just do a simple search to get in on the conversation and breaking news. You can guarantee a hashtag will be trending tomorrow.

So the fun kicks of at 6pm GMT tomorrow, no matter what tomorrow brings it's sure to be some good news and fingers cross we'll have IOS 5.0 availible to download by the end of the day. Before I get off just want to ask will you be buying the new phone? and if you are, are you in the comfortable position of being out of any contract or you going to be selling off anything you can get your grubby hands on to pay through the nose to get your hands on it?  

This is my Christmas 

God bless us everyone

G 

Review - Mac App Store

Here's a very quick look around Apple brand spanking new App store the the Mac. 

As always I wanna hear you thoughts in the comments below.

Happy shopping 

G

ISO 4.2 update is out. ipad owners go go go

The lastest and eagerly awaited, especially for ipad owners,  update for IOS has been released earlier today. Here's a quick run down of what 4.2 has to offer:

• Air Play - This is what i'm looking forward to
• Air print - Lets you print of files documents etc over a wireless connection
• Folder to the ipad
• Multitasking to the ipad
• Find My iphone, ipad or ipod touch

This update will have a big effect on how the ipad is used thanks to the addition of multitasking and folder just like the iphone & ipod touch. Click the image above to get a full run down and more info. 

Cheers

G 

Ipad is here

Finally Apple have announced there new 'tablet' device. It's called the ipad. Unfortunately I couldn't follow the live coverage as I had to work so I was picking up bits of info and what I was hearing wasn't really floating my boat.

Having gotten home and took proper look at the coverage from Engadget, Gizmodo, Twit.tv and the official apple video's I now really want one.

Now lets be clear I know I have an Imac, Macbook and Iphone so I can't possible need this device for any reason but guess what... I don't care! I admit part of my want for this is simply because its cool. Having said that I can see this being very usable in my house. I can envision it having pride of place in the living room ready to go when its needed. I can even see it replacing the macbook as we already have the imac for when a real computer is required. 

Price is very affordable, having said that no official UK prices have been announced. Like the Iphone the apps are going to be the driving force behind this device and if the apps already developed for the Iphone are anything to go by we are in for a treat. 

I do think it remains to be seen weather or not this device will take off but I have a feeling when people start to get their hand on these things they wont be able to resist the affordable and stylish ipad.

Ok thats my thoughts on the ipad, please feel free to post your thoughts bellow. 

Peace out 

G

Iphone app - Squarespace

 
 Finally its here! Well slap my bum and call me melvin, the Iphone app for Squarespace is finally out. Thank you Apple and Squarespace.

I've not had much time to play with it but 1st impressions are good. Features include as you move accross the 5 icons across the bottom of screen after you have logged into your chosen account (yes it does support multiple accounts)....

Post            Manage      Preview     Statistics     Account

     

Post - Here you can add a title, type a post body, manual edit date and input categorys and tags. You can even add a photo (via taking a pic there and then or chosing from a saved pic) before publishing your post or saving as a draft.

Manage - Presents a list of all the posts to your site. Selecting one will give you the option of either delete edit or view the selected post. 

Preview - Does what it says on the 'tin' shows what your site looks like. My only grip I can find so far is here as this need some more basic browser controls especial back as currently it only has a reload button.

Statistics - Say hello to a nice set of analytical graphs for the site. A nice little feature is by swiping across one of the graph you can change the date range. Info covers Page Views (swiping gives you 1 of 3 different types of page views for the previous 7 days), Subscribers, search (swiping give you 1today, 2day 3day and week views), referrers (swiping give you 1today, 2day 3day and week views). If you select a specific days info on a graph you'll be given a precise figure for that day.

Account - Here list the different accounts you have set up. You also have options for add account and get new account.

According to the iphone blog Squarespace are already planing to add comment management in their 1.1 update to the app.

I'm really looking forward putting this app to use now I can make updates on the move thanks to my Iphone and another great service from Squarespace. 

If your using the app please feel free to leave you thoughts on what you think of it and what features you would like to see in the future bellow. 

Don't go Changin'

G

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Spotify coming to the Iphone???

According to the BBC News the guys behind Spotify have submitted an Iphone app of their service to apple.

For those of you not in the know Spotify is a subscription service which give unlimited access to a massive library of music via the good old internet. No need to fill you hard drive with gigs and gigs of music you only listen to one or twice.

I've been waiting for this app for a while now but Apple have been creating a reputation for themselves for their, lets say, random/unclear authorization process. Many developers have their apps knocked back for, at best, obscure reasons and thats if they give a reason at all! So considering this free app will undoubtedly have an effect on Itunes and more specifitly the Itunes store it remains to be seen weather the app will get the go ahead. 

Fingers cross

G

Website/Iphone app suggestion... Audioboo

Hello peeps,

Just wanted to give a little shout out to Audioboo.

Audioboo is a service which, using an app on your Iphone, allows you to make small recording of, well, pretty much anything you like really. Its kind of like twitter but with audio. Once you’ve made your recording it is uploaded to the Audioboo servers for everyone to hear.The app also uses the Iphones GPS to geo tag the location on the recording.

The accompanying website has a very clean and simple design but looks great. Each boo gets its own little webpage which includes an audio player, of course, a google map showing where the boo was recorded, any tags you have added and code for embedding/linking the boo.

If there is a user on audio you’d like to follow you can subscribe to their RSS feed but the guys Audioboo have taken is a step further. The service also syndicates a users boo’s as a podcast so they can be subscribed to using Itunes… nice touch!

So why not have a go, have some fun with it, this could be the next step in the ever evolving social networking space, expect to see audioboo links appearing in a facebook/twitter status update near you

G

P.S Here’s my very 1st Audioboo  

why not post your Audioboo replies bellow