About a month ago, we (me and @ndoto) passed a Burger King that had a large banner out front: Now Hiring Delivery Drivers. Delivery drivers? Local restaurants have had a type of local delivery before, using a service called “Waiter on the Way†– but delivery direct from Burger King? This was new, and something I had never heard about previously. Then, last week we received the following postcard in the mail:
Needless to say, we were curious. So, we decided to give it a try Saturday night.
A few days ago, I posted my own thoughts and experiences with iOS 5. At the end of the article, I conclude that Windows Phone 7 would probably appeal to me, because it gets rid of the endless sea of icons and apps, and replaces them with dedicated “hubsâ€.
Well, way before that post – last year, in fact – I wrote an article about hubs, and the problems such a system has.
Well, here’s the part that worries me. While this concept is incredibly cool, it puts the responsibility on Microsoft to keep things up to date and fresh. What the App concept buys you is that when new social networking services crop up (for example), people can write Apps on top of its APIs right away, and before you know it you’re linked in to the service.
With Microsoft’s hubs, how long will you have to wait for Microsoft to integrate a new social networking service?
Now, today, I see that Paul Thurrott has posted an article on what Windows Phone 7 still lacks, even with this year’s Mango update.
The first is a topic I’ve been meaning to address for some time now, which is a serious issue with a facet of Windows Phone that Microsoft has trumpeted, correctly, as its primary advantage over iOS and Android: The integrated experiences that, in many ways, obviate the user’s need to find, download, and then use a myriad of different apps to accomplish common tasks. When the Windows Phone–integrated experiences work, they work well. You can very easily share a photo to Facebook or Twitter, without having first installed and configured a dedicated app for either service, for example.
But in many cases, these integrated experiences don’t offer as much functionality as do the dedicated apps. So depending on your needs, the existence of an integrated experience might simply be obviated by the fact that it doesn’t do what you want.
Paul goes on from here to describe a scenario, using Facebook, that can’t be accomplished properly because Windows Phone’s implementation of the Facebook API is limited. And it isn’t the only example.
There are holes like this in all of Windows Phone’s integrated experiences, from the Twitter integration that doesn’t understand hash tags to the photo integration that doesn’t understand Flickr and is unable to upload full-sized versions of your photos, automatically, to the service of your choice.
Go read the article – it’s essential if you’re considering a switch to a different mobile platform, like I am.
But this point is of particular note, because it is the core of what makes Windows Phone different, and worth considering. I noted in my original article last year that if Microsoft opens up hubs to third party developers, that it will help keep things current and fresh. So far that hasn’t happened, and my guess is that when Microsoft does finally do this, it’s going to be limiting.
There’s no final answer here. But if Microsoft wants to stay in this game – and wants to tout the benefits of hubs – it needs to keep this stuff updated. Ignore this, and you can watch your platform die in a sea of obsolescence.
I woke up this morning to an email from Lego talking about their Lego MBA (“Master Builder Academyâ€) Program. As tends to be the case on the Internet, that one thing led me on a path of Lego that I had difficulty escaping from.
The first thing I came across was a new set being released early next year. It’s an exclusive for VIP members, and it is essentially a miniature version of a larger series of sets!
Here is the original firehouse set (left), and the smaller mini version (right)
The mini modulars, as well as the full-size sets that are still available, can be found on the Lego site here. There is also a video where they talk about their inspiration for the miniature series, and what it’s like to build them:
I found the video above on a site that apparently does a lot of reviews of Lego sets. While poking around to see if they had any other information about the mini modulars, or any other upcoming sets, I found a review for the Ninjago Fire Temple set that I made a month or two ago.
Curious what someone else might think about this amazing set, I decided to watch the video. Oh, how very, very painful.
All right, so I guess I should start off by saying that everyone has different reasons for enjoying Lego. And far be it from me to judge anyone’s reasons to like or not like a particular set. Ultimately, I’m probably not the target audience for this “reviewâ€.
But wow. The reviewer talks at one point about personally building the set, but I have my doubts as to how much building he actually did. There’s no talk about some of the fun building techniques that are used in putting this set together. There’s no talk about some of the intricate details on both the temple and the finished dragon. But hey, it comes in a big box and costs just over ten cents a piece – that’s pretty important right? Also, there’s apparently about 200 pieces per minifig in the set. I have no idea what bearing that has on anything, but okay.
Also: SCYTHE. SCYYYYYYYTHE
The real injustice comes at the end of the video, where the reviewer pans the set for being $120. Despite his seemingly favorable opinion about the set up to that point, he decries the price and the lack of “spinnersâ€. The “spinners†are part of a game that is based on the Ninjago universe, and as far as I can tell adds nothing to the building of the set, or its final look. But apparently the lack of them makes its price unreasonable.
So, here’s the thing. I get the impression that the reviewer is looking at the set from the point of view of enjoying the final set as a play set. Which is fine. But you can buy pre-built play sets anywhere these days. The appeal of Lego – to me, at least – is the process of building it. Playing with the final set is, of course, a fun and expected reward for finishing it. But you’re not just paying for the completed set – you’re paying for the experience of building it. The building techniques, the thought and consideration that went into each step, those amazing “aha†moments when several seemingly innocuous steps come together to create something brilliant and expressive.
Everyone likes different aspects of Lego. Some like the pre-made sets, like me. Some like to take a random assortment of bricks and let their imagination be their guide. Some like to play with the final product. But when there’s a guy like this – a guy who doesn’t seem to know what to talk about until the very end, when he suddenly talks passionately about how expensive the set is, and how it’s lacking a component that doesn’t have anything to do with the core Lego building experience – I feel there is something genuinely wrong. For any Lego fan.
Question: What is a review?
Answer: A thorough, unbiased evaluation with the intention of determining a final critique.
It may not be a proper dictionary definition, but this is what I expect when I read technology reviews. Most of the time, I am satisfied. But with the release of iOS 5, I was consistently disappointed. Gone was the thoroughness. Gone was the proper critique. They read more like summaries of the features listed in an Apple press release. There were some details, of course, but there was also a lot missing.
This is my attempt to fill in some of the gaps. I’m not going to attempt to do a full review. But I want to look at iOS 5 with fresh eyes, explore some of the details overlooked in other reviews, and briefly sum up how it compares to other mobile operating systems available today.
So, lets begin.
As you may or may not have seen, I completed AC: Brotherhood on Sunday. I thought I’d share some very brief thoughts on the game as I wrap up my time with this entry in the series, and prepare for the next.
Both Assassin’s Creed 2 and Brotherhood are incredible works of art. I won’t go into intricate details here, but suffice it to say that the music, presentation, and historical research that went into these games comes together to create an unforgettable experience.
My favorite part of Brotherhood, specifically, is how the plot unfolds. There are several factions, and each sequence essentially focuses on one of the factions. It was a smart way to layer the story, and it worked particularly well in the context of building a brotherhood of assassins.
It’s just disappointing that all of this falls apart so easily during the gameplay.
Alas, AC: Brotherhood inherits a lot of the bugs and glitches that its predecessor had, and somehow seems to make them worse, to boot. As both @ndoto and I played, cries of “Ezio! You idiot!†accompanied almost every task. Foremost in our frustration was controlling Ezio. He randomly grabs walls and items nearby to him and starts to climb them or scale them. Sometimes this is what you want, most times it is not. This is frustrating, but as you play the game you learn to adapt to it and go with Ezio’s spastic flow. What is absolutely unforgivable, though, is Ezio’s tendency to leap to his death. He could be lined up with a wooden beam right in front of him, but for some unknown reason, he will leap off to the left, away from the wooden beam, and plunge to his death. The first couple of times you think perhaps you aren’t controlling the character properly. But as this scenario repeats, you realize that, no, the game is just that glitchy.
To add insult to injury, Brotherhood added the concept of “full synchronization†– completing a sequence successfully with a certain restriction. With the controls the way they are, meeting the full synchronization requirement often requires a lot of time and patience. Needless to say, it was early on in the game that I gave up on the hope of achieving full synchronization for every sequence.
There is even one part of the game that completely glitches out, such that you can’t successfully experience it. It’s not game breaking, but it’s disappointing. And this is one year later. It should have been patched long before now.
Despite all this, I feel that the Assassin’s Creed series of games is something that should not be missed. That being said, though, the current story arc is on its way to being resolved. Ubisoft has stated its intent to keep the series going – but if these bugs don’t get fixed, no one is going to want to invest in the next chapter.
I don’t foresee AC: Revelations fixing any of these problems. But it would be encouraging to see at least some improvement – a promise from Ubisoft that they care about the future of the series as much as its fans.
Apparently Girl Scout cookies have palm oil in their recipes. Palm oil is not only unhealthy but can cause substantial environmental damage if not produced correctly. Well good news! They’re going to change the recipes.
Girl Scouts of the USA
isn’t eliminating the ingredient, but it says that beginning with the 2012-13 cookie season, each box will include a GreenPalm logo as a symbol of Girl Scouts’ commitment to address concerns about the deforestation of sensitive lands caused by production of palm oil.
Oh. Okay. So… they’re sticking a pretty logo on their boxes to say they care very, very much? That’s it?
In its announcement Wednesday, the Girl Scouts said it has directed its bakers to use as little palm oil as possible, and only in recipes where there is no alternative. It wants its bakers to move to a segregated, certified sustainable palm oil source by 2015.
2015?! Right, well, I suppose that’s a good first step, but why would there be recipes where there is no alternative? I think the truth here is that any alternative would create a cookie that is different from what consumers expect, and that would impact sales. Nevermind that palm oil isn’t a particularly good oil.
"Girl Scouts’ palm oil use is very small, but our voice is big," Amanda Hamaker, Girl Scouts manager of product sales, said in a press release. "The world’s food supply is intricately tied to the use of palm oil, so we believe promoting sustainable manufacturing principles is the most responsible approach for Girl Scouts."
… in four years.
Okay, so, taken literally this is good news. But the huge delay in making any meaningful changes, and a refusal to simply stop using palm oil altogether, points to an organization that would rather make themselves look good rather than making a difference.
I guess the girls that are part of the Girl Scouts will have to keep trying to teach their organization about health and protecting the environment. Wait… shouldn’t it be the other way around?
From Cisco’s infographic about IPv6 a month or two ago:
When billions of things are connected, talking and learning, the only limitation left will be our own imaginations.
Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize our imaginations were so restrictive. I could have sworn money was the limiting factor in situations like this — money for development, money to build infrastructure, money for content and intellectual property use, etc.
I could be mistaken. Perhaps there was no possible way for Cisco to imagine a better Flip player, so they had to kill off the product.
A recent HuffPost Food article said the following:
And since we are at it , why do we have the "small" soft drinks at the soda fountain look like large pitchers who could serve 3 very thirsty giants? Why are we always served more than we need? Extra butter, more potatoes, super size me.[…] Time to portion control our appetite it’ll do us better than diet pills and miracle diets. I’m for one ready to take the challenge. Are you with me? Let’s portion control, America!
There is definitely a valid point here. Portions in America – and, increasingly, the rest of the Western world – are much too large. But have you ever noticed that the things that come in large portions are also the things that are most damaging in large quantities? Soda, bread, pasta, potatoes, ground meats – stuff that’s processed, and thus cheap. Perhaps one notable exception is the salad bar, but even that isn’t as cheap as the processed alternatives (if it’s a good salad bar, anyway).
In other words, no one would be complaining about portion control if we had a plate full of vegetables, providing us a wealth of vitamins, minerals and fiber relative to the calories we’d be taking in. But instead, our meals are so skewed toward empty calories that we have to take vitamin supplements.
Portion control is important, sure, and it’s a good first step. But portion balance is also key – or we may end up getting even less of the nutrients we need to stay healthy.
Just a quick post to provide an update on the next version of Trowl.
Preview builds are now available. I waited until things seemed relatively stable, so if you want to give 0.7 a whirl, you shouldn’t experience too many problems. Of course, if you do, I’d love to hear about it. Then I can fix it and everything will be happy again. :)
While 0.7 is mostly finished, there are still a few small features that I’d like to add. I didn’t want the preview builds to get held up by these last few changes, but you can expect a couple more goodies to slip through before things are finalized.
So, what are those features? Thank you for asking, imaginary commenter!
* New "Event" notification. (NOW AVAILABLE in build 002) The user stream sends more than just tweets — it also sends notifications about new followers, retweets and favorites. So it only seemed appropriate to pass those notifications on to Growl. As new notifications get sent to the stream, I’ll integrate them into this notification type.
* Complete t.co integration. (NOW AVAILABLE in build 003) Twitter is finally starting to push ahead with implementing its t.co URL "shortening" service to the rest of its ecosystem. To that end, Trowl will behave slightly differently when posting a tweet with URLs. Each URL will automatically deduct ~19 characters from your tweet, no matter how long the URL is. My current plan is to keep the built-in is.gd shortening available for those who like to use that, but it’ll probably become less important as t.co becomes more widespread.
* Photo uploads. (NOW AVAILABLE in build 004) I think everyone knows what this is now that Twitter has rolled it out to everyone on the Twitter website. It is not yet (officially) part of the API, though, and currently Twitter has no date planned for a roll out. (So much for late June.) Like mentioned above, this may or may not make it into 0.7 depending on how long this takes.
* Higher resolution profile pictures. (NOW AVAILABLE in build 005) Profile pictures will now be 200 by 200 pixels, if possible. A lot of profile pictures aren’t that large when pulled from Twitter, so some changes were made to how the retweet profile pictures are composed. Overall, though, you shouldn’t notice too much of a difference unless you are using a Growl display that shows large images, or you forward notifications to another device, like Howl on iPhone. Metro Display was changed to show a larger version of the profile picture if you hover your mouse over the profile picture.
Thoughts, questions, suggestions? Feel free to comment. :)
Paul Thurrott recently (well, “recently”; I’m a bit delayed on this due to moving) posted an article about Dropbox — specifically, why anyone who uses Windows would use it over Live Mesh.
Well, I use Windows, Live Mesh AND Dropbox. If you’re at all interested in cross-device synchronization, then neither Dropbox or Live Mesh should be so quickly dismissed. This is true, even in light of Dropbox’s recent (“recent”) security issues.
First, let me just say that everything Paul says about Windows Live Mesh is entirely true, and the reasons he gives for using it — more storage, flexible folder syncing, peer-to-peer syncing, remote desktop access, application settings syncing — are valid. These are all reasons why I use Windows Live Mesh, too.
Okay, so what about Dropbox?
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