Legacy of Steve Jobs

I was going to write about my Disneyland trip, or maybe about the iPhone 4S and Siri, but on Wednesday, an icon, a tech hero died. This you know, of course, because Steve Jobs was that important. Millions of lives have been made better by his inventions, and his passion brought technology to market that has reshaped the world. We operate differently because of iDevices, whether you own one or not. Multitouch displays, app stores... MP3 players replacing CD players. The iPad saved tablets from obscurity, and Steve proved that you can defy the status quo and succeed against opposition.

And then there's Pixar. A generation of children grew up watching their computer animated films, and the success of those movies has reshaped Disney — and perhaps storytelling, in general.

I can imagine some of the great things Steve Jobs could have accomplished with more time, but one of the most amazing things about him is that he created things we can't imagine. As a child, I never dreamed that one day, I might have a Star Trek device in my pocket. If you think about what the iPhone 4 is compared to the first iPhone, and compare that to the Palm Treo and other "smartphones" that preceded it, you can see how far things have come.

For me, the iPhone and iPad have been life-changing. Both devices enhance what I do in such simple yet amazing ways, and both are so intuitive and natural, they seem like extensions of thought, or extra limbs. The iPad has replaced my desktop and notebook computers — it does just about everything that I need to do. I also use it as a notebook, sketchbook and journal. And with the iPhone 4S and Siri, I'll have a phone that's one step away from sentience. I was thinking about getting the Infiniti Personal Assistant service, but in a few weeks, I'll have something just as good, built into the handset.

Of course, much of the brilliance of iOS belongs to the software itself and app developers, but having spoken to many app creators, I know that iOS was built to be powerful and easy to create for. iTunes and the App Store are both brilliant tools. iTunes has done amazing things for musicians, authors and programmers.

Steve Jobs created a company that makes my life better, and more fun. He influenced me more than any movie star, storyteller or US President. I've never loved a phone or tablet until I bought one made by Apple.

It's hard to know where to begin or end this. I'll have to add more thoughts later. I'm often compared to Vulcans, but news of Steve's death made me teary-eyed after the initial shock and disbelief. I suppose I'm still trying to process the loss. That's incredible by itself.

CrackBerry Lessons, short and sweet

What could I have learned from my BlackBerry Curve, a device I hardly ever used? I hated its keyboard, so had I stuck with it, I would've learned brevity.

I generally despise restrictions (some are good). Restraints that impede flamboyance are especially irritating. Why use one sentence when five would do nicely?

By instinct, I'm thorough — I apply that to blogging. I may begin intending to be pithy, but after several paragraphs, I delve deeper to explain every element. To do otherwise seems like a disservice. The infrequency of my blogging was likely a factor.

Maybe as I blog more often, I can keep entries short and sweet. I suppose I'll find out!

Under 200 words, iA Writer says under 60 seconds!

Click to read more ...

A Glimpse Into Bradtastic's Mind

The photo was taken at night in my building's garage with the iPhone 4. I think that I used the HDR version of the wall pic. The image was opened in SketchBook Pro on my iPad, to add the 'poem.' Aside from the writing, the picture is unedited. Perhaps this post will inspire you — maybe you'll see something else, or something different. Maybe you'll think "he's not normal." Either way, I decided to share this because, here at my blog, I almost never reveal my eccentricities. Also, I haven't finished researching — and writing about — Philippine law and Nat Geo's "Locked Up Abroad."

Day One Journal, no nonsense.

This app is cool. At $0.99 USD, it’s hard to complain about price. (The same cannot be said for the desktop version, however, at $9.99) DAY ONE (journal) for iPhone is a strong example of a straightforward app uncomplicated by features.

But what about Momento?

How can I not mention Momento? After all, I featured it on this blog. Both are currently iPhone only (as iOS devices go). The two do differ, however. Momento could do everything that Day One does, but it’s not really built for just that. Momento is about capturing feeds and tagging posts; organizing a complex weave of photos, tweets, status updates and memos. Day One doesn’t do photos. It doesn’t do tagging, either. It doesn’t have these things… on purpose. What it does, it does so well; it keeps track of lightweight journal posts and quick thoughts, timestamps them, keeps track of particular favorites, and syncs it all with Dropbox. The app syncs with the expensive desktop version (I don’t understand the ten dollar Mac app price tag — at all. Come on, $4.99 tops, more like $2.99 and it’d be a super app), for those crazy enough to buy it. Momento does offer backups and exporting, but it isn’t super clean and automatic. The (current) lack of a desktop counterpart makes the exports fairly useless, too. Momento is like a personal status archive. Day One is a journal.

What else…

DAY ONE is beautiful. Look at it; it’s stunning. It’s compelling; it makes writing easy, and it never feels clunky. I think that the app could use text markup, specifically bold, italics, strikethrough, but even without, why wouldn’t you use it. Day One journal app is perfect for beginner journal-keepers; paper journals can be daunting for newcomers and anyone who hasn’t actually finished a journal cover-to-cover, and this semi-safe little thing is a perfect tool to capture quick thoughts during downtime. To truly take advantage of its plain text self, Day One can be used with Dragon Dictation: on the go, thoughts can be verbalized, transformed to text, copied, and pasted into Day One with a few taps. Granted, a perfect integration this isn’t, but it’s not that bad. The lack of tagging and feeds is a good thing, I think… at least for some people — maybe most people. Integrating text and images from outside sources can mean clutter, and tagging just isn’t necessary for everyone. The tedium of tagging can be a turn-off; it isn’t useful if it’s only done sometimes, and to tag every single quick post just doesn’t seem (or feel) practical in the real world. Dropbox syncing is a far more practical feature. [If you don’t have a Dropbox account, make one NOW] Entries are therefore self-archiving, and the plain text can then be used wherever with simple copy/paste. Rich text would be neat, but it isn’t always better. Adding some kind of markup could mean loss of flexibility; some apps/websites/tools prefer HTML, some use Textile.

Closing thoughts; Bradtastic Approved?

My recommendation is this: BRADTASTIC APPROVED. If you aren’t currently using a journal app, get Day One (Journal). Even if you do have something else, at $0.99 for an iOS app, the risk is small. Play around with it for a while before investing in the desktop app. I was hesitant of this app at first; I thought (and still believe) that the desktop app was overpriced, that it lacked value, and that there were numerous alternatives. Now that I have it, it’s hard to regret. I see this as a replacement for the now defunct IdeaPad app by Glowfilter. [I have no idea why IdeaPad was removed from the App Store; a copyright issue, maybe, because of the name?] Day One is clean and fast; 2.4mb and four dollars cheaper than Macjournal for iPhone. It’s also better looking by far. [and I actually really like Mariner Software in general] Keeping a daily journal is one of the best simple things anyone can do. Too often, people make excuses — “I don’t have time,” • “I’m not good at writing.” Those are decent reasons not to blog, but this journal can stay private. It’s straightforward and isn’t intimidating. I’ve never had someone I’ve recommended journaling to ever tell me they’ve regretted it, or that it was a bad idea. I do hear about a lot of false starts, however, and I think Day One is a decent countermeasure. [AND: Maybe my unendorsed glowing (fair and honest) review will convince the developers to give me a copy of the desktop app to try!]

Update on Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 3:29 AM by Bradtastic

I’ve been told that I may have the opportunity to review the desktop app for you guys in the near future (a few weeks or less). Also, after learning more about the app from the developer and @dayoneapp at Twitter, I can confidently say that I believe updates will arrive soon that will make Day One easily worth the $9.99 price.

As it is, if the desktop app is as slick and crash-free as the iOS app, it’s not money poorly spent, I think. If you have the means and desire to toss ten dollars at a cool app to support the development of making said app even cooler, by all means, I won’t argue!

As far as features go, I’ve been told that markdown is on the way.

In addition to that, I would appreciate a separate title field for entries, and reminders (a desktop feature) on the iOS app [though that’s not as big of a deal].

Stay tuned!

Update on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 2:25 AM by Bradtastic

I have indeed given the Mac OS desktop app a thorough “testing;” I’ve been using the app for over one week now. It is brilliant! The concept behind Day One is something that I’ve come to really love: simple is better. 

It’s not-so-much “less is more” as it is “keep it simple.”

D A Y O N E as they like to write it, is completely different from MacJournal. The iOS app differs from Momento. Day One is focussed—there’s no nonsense, no blogging from within the app, no tagging entries or importing feeds. Day One is a simple, put-your-thoughts-into-it tool. That’s why it is great. 

If you like (or need) that sort of thing, get this app. Even if you think $9.99 might be too much for the desktop counterpart, it’s probably worth it for two reasons: you’ll get your value for money when the app is updated, it’s a small price to pay for a tool you can actually use everyday, quickly. 

Day One is not an app that you feel guilty for ignoring when you need to, and you won’t feel bad about simply writing a few sentences (or phrases even), if that’s what is appropriate—or all you have time for. Day One should absolutely be used with Dropbox; not linking the two is such a waste, since Dropbox is free (or cheap, if you want to pay for it).

NOTE: If you’re concerned about privacy, DAY ONE might not (yet) be for you. The iOS app has password protection, but it’s light, and the data stored isn’t encrypted… and it’s easy to find. The desktop app is far less secure, so: if you think someone will try to snoop, find something else—or censor your writing. But if that’s the case… maybe you have a bigger issue to deal with.

Integrating iOS Technology

I'm just relaxing at the moment; I can do that, and type on the iPhone 4 keyboard. I've become rather pro at it; as in, proficient. So here I sit for a moment, trying to drink half my body weight in ounces of water, thinking about these wonderful little devices we carry around with us and what they're doing to change our lives.

Here, in the greatest country in the world, so much of life has become about convenience and accessibility. I've heard that there are European countries that take better care of their disabled people, but groups like the ADA do a decent job making sure that the handicapped aren't left out. And mad props to Wounded Warriors.

I can access the Internet, Netflix "watch instantly" movies, TV shows on Hulu, millions of apps, millions of songs, news feeds, weather and GPS related info from my phone. This iPhone knows where it is in the world, and due to its built-in gyroscope, it knows its orientation and can calculate its own movement through space.

I'm even thinking about changing my data plan to 4GB/month (down from unlimited) so that I'll have access to "personal hotspot" and Internet tethering—I've never gone over 2GB on my handheld, anyway. In practical terms, it'll enable access to the net on my iPad and notebook computer; and because both are slightly better than the iPhone at web browsing and related tasks (though I love the "retina display"), it makes sense whenever I'm away from Wi-Fi. Writing and note-taking is easier on my iPad; at present, emails and blog updates composed (on my ipad) away from my home network get saved on the device and sync whenever I have a net connection.

The fact that this is at all possible is amazing to me sometimes. I think back to life a decade ago, when cell phones with color screens were top of the line and most people never thought about things in terms of terabytes. Earlier still, I remember staring at my Gameboy, thinking about how cool it would be to be able to watch TV on a device that small—seen one of the original Gameboys recently?! They're huge!

Luxuries turn to necessities and our lived become more complex. No one remembers phone numbers anymore; meet someone new—add them at Linkedin or Facebook. This is how many of us operate, and so much of it seems natural.

I have a hard time getting people to exchange handwritten letters with me through snail mail. Handwriting is becoming Latin. I used to inkblog; I'd like to, again, but I think if need to get a functional Tablet PC to do so on, or perhaps a Cintiq. My Fujitsu has a max battery life of around 45 minutes, and I can create artwork on the iPad, using the same software I'd use on the Tablet PC: Autodesk SketchBook Pro.

iOS plus MobileMe; everything synced, tracked, backed up... computers and technology all around us—makes me fear EMPs and solar winds. It makes me think about The Matrix; not so much the war against the machines bit, but instead the jacking in straight into the back of the neck.

Someday soon, we'll have augmented reality sunglasses and we'll wonder how we ever lived without them. And if I had to guess, they'll have two versions: Android and iOS.

Computer Hardware

Despite all this “antennaegate” nonsense, I got myself an iPhone 4, and I’m happy with it. The retina-display is amazing. I also got a Kindle DX last week; the more time I spend with it, the more I love it. At last, I thought to myself, all I need to get is a 3D HDTV and move out of Oakland, and everything will be peachy!

Alas…

Once again I find myself out of storage space on my main computer. My main computer isn’t new, anymore… and I’ve been giving some thought toward getting a new one. I just don’t know what would best suit me at the moment.

Things are changing.

My life was simpler last year; I knew what I was doing, I knew how to do it, and I wasn’t going out much. I’d made dramatic lifestyle changes and had settled into the uncomfortable routines of pain management. This year, I’m trying to be slightly more active, and I’m once again using computers frequently.

Desktop or notebook?

The iPad was the real game-changer. The iPhone did a lot to make some net-based tasks easier, but typing on one just isn’t quick or convenient enough. With the iPad I was able to establish new routines and processes to get stuff done. Apple’s tablet was the first device of its kind to really replace a notebook — it’s so far beyond the netbook that it’s unreasonable to compare the two.

Unfortunately, I can’t do everything on the iPad. Though there are many wonderful apps available on iTunes’ App Store (there are also many dismal ones), many necessary utilities are missing. I still need a Mac for some stuff. But what would suit me best? I’m debating between the iMac and Mac Pro.

Perhaps someday soon, I’ll have both; a work machine, and a media machine. For now, I need to prioritize, and the next two pieces of hardware I need are a printer and a WACOM Cintiq 12WX. Most of my design work starts as a sketch, and my Tablet PC is just too old to be effective. I can’t even find a replacement battery for it. I did add a Motion Computing LE 1600 to my wishlist, however, and at $450, it’d make for a great gift.

With or without, things are happening. I’ve been creating new artwork and I’m going to release some new designs as well as some writing. Somehow, with all of this going on, I’ve managed to set aside time to watch some Star Trek and post journal entries. However, my books and my aircraft design are drifting toward limbo — I need to rectify that.

If you also want to make some things happen, here’s a book I suggest:

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

The Amazing iPad

I’ve been amazed by the iPad from the moment I first saw one…

And since purchasing and syncing it, it’s rarely left my hands. I’ve read dozens of iPad reviews but none have quite represented how truly incredible the device is for someone like me. It’s replaced my desktop and laptop; the only other device I use regularly is my iPhone, and that’s to make phone calls.

I can’t say that I was ever skeptical of the iPad, but prior to seeing the device on, in person, the hype was easy to ignore. I didn’t want to fight for pole-position in long lines, and I wanted the 3G model.

I still want the 3G model — just not as much. I’m almost never away from WiFi hotspot, and if I am, I’m generally doing something that requires my full attention. WiFi is prevalent where I live and spend time, and I doubt that free hotspots are a fading trend. That said, it would be nice to use the iPad for GPS navigation; attempting to use the iPhone for such a purpose while driving in San Francisco with a visually-impaired passenger is inconvenient, if not dangerous. Luckily, we just got a little lost.

My only other iPad complaints are fairly minor. I’d like WACOM Penabled technology built-in, the screen collects and reflects smudges (making it difficult to view the screen in sunlight), and there isn’t enough software — yet.

I’d like to see a version of Adobe Illustrator for iPad. I’m not sure that that will ever happen because of the Adobe Flash war (conflict), but something similar could be created, like Inkscape.

I know that the iPad was never created to be an everything replacement — but for me, it really could be. The iPad really is a dream, come true… I could never have imagined as a child that I’d one day have a device like this, and for it to have happened so soon! I’m excited to see next year’s model.

Looking back at the first-generation iPhone to the 3GS — the biggest improvements were software, not hardware. I think that current iPad software is barely 1/10 of what’s possible. Let’s hope the Formics don’t attack us until then.

iPad Saves a Life; Wonderful Weather

Today the sky stays dim and dark, and the wind, the rain — the world itself seems merry. And merrily I write; albeit on my iPhone 3GS, because I don't have... well, I'll get to that later.

I don't fare well on fair-weather days; while some might think it unfair, I see differently. Something about the bright blue skies and direct sunlight makes me want to... well, too many things — but I want to move for sure.

The weather in Oakland is crap. I want to move someplace dark and wet... and cold. I don't take particular pleasure in any particular person's displeasure, I'm just fine with my own company. I don't get lonely, and besides — surely I could convince a few to join in the joys of year'round winter!

My LG plasma TV makes me sad. It's so heavy I don't want to move it, meaning in some way, I don't want to move. I want to replace te TV — it's very hard to truly enjoy watching anything on it. Ever had a dead pixel? Maybe ten? At present, at least 400,000 of the 829,440 pixels display red-blue-green sparkle artifacts. I've posted photos on my Twitter, @bradtastic.

Anyway...

I'm rereading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and the "desks" make me think of, and want, an iPad. Only problem: the 3G models aren't out yet. Damned FCC!

The iPad — or lack thereof — didn't save my life. I don't know for sure that it hasn't blocked a bullet for someone, somewhere, though. Good thing this is my blog and I make (most of) the rules. It's my blog and I can't cry if I want.

You can cry, too. For me. Because I'm semi-crippled and need a light computer to do work on. Presently, I do most of it on my iPhone. Sad, yes.

Thankfully, I have a great view. And thank God, the weather today is fantastic!

Bradtastic Premier 2010

From the desk and TabletPC of Brad Chin: “Bradtastic 2010” Premier site logo, rough draft. Like I’d really let you see the final thing!

Superfluous? I don’t think so. 

This is to let everyone get a glimpse of some of what’s coming. I’m going to move Bradtastic… however, I don’t know what to do with all of that old content. There’s a lot of it that I’d like to keep — but I also like the idea of starting over, fresh, since so much is different. 

What do you think?

Please… let me know. Also, please leave a link if you happen to know of a high-quality questionnaire/polling system online. I liked that Livejournal had a system built in; but for many reasons, I’m not going to go back to LJ. Unless they paid me… I suppose a free permanent account would suffice. 

About the art and one of my obsessions

I’ve been trying to utilize my Tablet technology as much as possible. Unfortunately, my device is more than five years old now; the battery-life is less than 35 minutes with full-conservation settings, it’s bulky and hot.

My inkblogging has garnered more attention than expected, and I’d like to continue with the format. I think it’s a perfect medium for discussing writing instruments and paper as well. I even have the perfect domain name for such a review site!

I’m still compiling my thoughts on the Levenger Ledgerdomain notebook… I think that it’d be pretty cool to start-off a paper and pens review site with a “Bradtastic Approved Notebooks” feature! (Or is it, “featurrette?”) 

Meanwhile… some real-life wondrousness!

In digital-life form — Check out (and add or bookmark) Bradtastic Antipresto for links and images. I post iPhone art, skyline shots, funny stories, and sketchbook glimpses on a regular basis. [Note: if you’re not particularly fond of Antipresto’s DISQUS comments handling and style/theme, rest-assured, neither am I. My tumblr will be modified — improved.]