It didn’t have the accelerometer back then. For us to be able to watch movies, it needed a big screen. Not vertically, because we couldn’t flip it on it’s side. No, it may not have been the best form factor in Apple’s history but it was necessary.

The times are changing and technology is moving forward. Now it’s back to its original slim appearance and it looks wonderful. I really like it. It seems like it has become a more intuitive device now that we have the accelerometer as well as some interface enhancements here and there. I mean, you’ve got to love that “shake to shuffle” thing, right?

So, all good? Well, almost - there’s only one thing I’m personally concerned about. Apparently we can now even record voice notes on the nano, perfect eh? NO. No, no, no.

People have been screaming for this feature ever since other media players offered it and I really understand Apple’s decision to include it here. But I don’t like it. The nano is a media player with enourmous potential to do all sorts of stuff, but it is not an organizer.

This feature belongs on the iPhone I’ve got in my pocket. The iPhone is an organizer. No matter how much people scream in desperation for audio recording on an iPod, I still don’t think it belongs there. And it’s not because I’m conservative (hope not), but because I want to keep things simple.

Not saying Apple isn’t keeping things simple though. The new nano seems like a wonderful device. And it is, as always. It’s just my personal opinion that it should be tailored for it’s job, and not have one feature too much. 

But hey, that’s a balance act Apple has been doing for years and they’ve already earned my trust many times over. So thanks for a great keynote and some awesome new products!

“Mobile me” is a way of storing information on a remote server, in one way the same as any other server, only that it is specifically used for iPhones. Meaning that sending or receiving emails eg. should go through this server. Sort of like an ISP, only here (with Apples server) the communication does not work.

Why? Because someone has done a lame job it appears. Not even after reading the so called apology blog I feel that there is some sort of explanation. From any other company, blaming “a serious problem” would not come as a surprice. But hey. We’re talking about the masters of software and simplicity, right?

I expected more. Did you?

Here in Amsterdam, I knew that T-mobile were the ones smart enough to sign a contract to sell it. So it was almost compulsary behaviour to enter the T-mobile store that were conveniently located on a random street I happened to pass on the day after the release.

I was well aware of the hype and popularity around this bespoken gadget, even read in several newspapers that in some countries it had sold out in a matter of hours. Even so, it felt interesting to maybe find out how much to pay for it and such. Out of curiosity I decided to go in.

Believe it or not, out comes a guy with an iPhone package in his arms!

In that store there were still iPhones to buy and the prices weren’t that bad either to be honest. There was a que of maybe 10 people but a fairly small place so crowded even so.

I felt the iPhone, I tried the touchscreen and the camera. All of it was good and I could really have use for some of the features such as Google Maps. It was very tempting, but I didn’t buy it. Truth is I don’t need it, nor can I afford it at this time.

Some people say that it’s better off to regret what you have done in your life rather than regret what you haven’t done. I seriously hope they are wrong.

Kristina’s experience

“Podcast“. I’ve briefly heard the expression before but without deeper knowledge than it having something to do with what people occasionally listen to in their iPods.

When I finally got myself an iPod shuffle, I didn’t reflect more over it. Until the other day, when Daniel told me about podcast. He said I could get American voices talking in my iPod, for free. Instead of listening to music all day, I could learn something. He had some interesting suggestions. So I thought, why not?

To the story, I would need to add, I am currently using Ubuntu 8.04. The procedure to get the podcast into my iPod Shuffle was as follows:

• In order to use Ubuntu together with an iPod in the first place, gtkpod is needed.
• As gtkpod lacks some features included in iTunes, such as usage of podcasts, yet another software was needed, called gpodder.
• After installing Gpodder, I copied the URL from the Podcast I wanted, and pasted into gpodder. A list of files appeared, or shall I say chapters, from where you could choose how many to download. Almost like a book. Downloaded the file which was then saved into a sub folder under my home folder.
• After saving my second podcast, I discovered that the naming of this sub folder was not related to the name of the podcast at all. Funny enough it was named some sort of jibber jabber. Had to change that manually.
• Last step. Get the folder with the podcast into the iPod by using gtkpod. Then I was ready to go.

Having listened to the first two podcasts in my life, I can admit I enjoy it. It is like listening to the radio except you get to choose the programs. Worth the fuss? Yes, I think so. And you can be certain that I will continue to explore the world of podcasts.

I’m a Mac.

Daniel’s experience

Never tried podcasting before. In fact, I haven’t even used my iPod in a few months but I thought I’d dust it off this week. Only I didn’t feel like listening to music for some reason - I wanted something interesting. Why not try podcasts?

Just like all journeys, this one began at Google dot com. After a few seconds, I found a couple of massive djungles of podcasts and began to search for the perfect one for me. Naturally, I clicked on “Technology” and searched for words like “development”.

After a few minutes of quick browsing, I found something seemingly appropriate - The Web 2.0 Show. Now that I’ve listened to the latest episode, I just love the whole concept of podcasting. For me, it is just so much more productive than listening to music and this in turn also makes it more enjoyable.

Sure, music is art and it’s great - I’m not saying podcasting is better. Which one you prefer will probably depend on the mood you’re in. I’m just saying that podcasting can be more educational, more fun and certainly more thought-provoking.

Here’s how it all worked on my dear MacBook:

• Google “podcasts” to find something suitable and click the subscribe link.
• The podcast is shown in iTunes where we can subscribe to it.
• Latest episode is downloaded and all the others have a button for this purpose.
• We drag the stuff we want to the iPod.

All set!

Steve makes a good point when mentioning factors that affects the ability of being or even becoming innovative. The tools, that are crucial when it comes to innovation. Most of it, you can affect. To a certain part.

“People you have” Here there is a great possibility to affect. Stick with the good guys. Simple as that.

“How you’re led” A bit more tricky. Sort of like gambling, but hey someone ought to win the lottery? Not everyone has Steve in the lead. Poor management can be seen worldwide, unfortunately. Although this can also be changed, if you just want it bad enough.

“How much you get it” What to comment on this, really? Either you get it or you don’t.

Just think about it, what is innovation all about?

Wikipedia defines it as “both radical and incremental changes in thinking” while Google equals it to “a new or variant product, idea, process or way of thinking”. That could also be translated into two famous words.

Ever heard about the term Think different?

The 3G iPhone. It’s finally here, or at least it’s not so far away anymore. I read it will be released on th 11th of July in the UK and even Sweden which is earlier than I thought.  Now that it even has GPS, I don’t know if there’s much missing in it.

Sure, it could use a better camera but that’s not really important for me. If I want to take pretty photos of pretty people (like my girlfriend), I’ll get myself a regular digital camera. Of course, it’s nice to have a decent camera on you at all times in case you want to snap a spontane photo.

So that’s something that could be fixed but then again, we also want to keep the price decent, don’t we? And the price indeed seems to become decent, if you disregard the painful contracts one “must” enter. The option to buy it prepaid/unlocked would be nice but that’s what we have sites like eBay for.

Steve Jobs look sick. We all get sick. Next subject.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard. I would never have guessed “snow leopard” would be the next name. Makes sense though. It’s still Leopard, they’re just changing a few things under the hood. To be modest.

This is a good thing. We don’t need a brand new cat for quite some time, Leopard is fine. What we could use is exactly what Snowcat will bring - enriched technology. 64-bit, Exchange support, Multicore - it’s all just what we need.

A like that about Apple. Most of the time, they take it seemingly easy, work on stuff we need and bring it to us when it’s stable and ready. Instead of bloating their software with features, they make things easy to use.

Things are moving forward at Apple. Changes are subtly emerging in just the right pace. Let’s look forward to nice iPhone reviews and steady progress of the new Leopard.

Everything’s on Google - I mean the Internet - these days. The way I figure is, if the collective wisdom of the whole world doesn’t have a solution, neither does a low-paid call agent who’s just waiting for a promotion to get off the phone. But that’s just me and I actually work as technical support for the largest retailers in Scandinavia. Call me biased.

However, technical support isn’t for people like me. It’s for the average Joe’s out there that don’t want to dig into these problems themselves. Very understandably so because computer problems suck, trust me. From what I’ve heard, so do many support lines as well.

The problem with many support lines is that they focus too much on the problem and the time it takes to fix it. In a way, that resemples how the vast majority of businesses work - they focus too much on the product and the production process, and too little on the mind of the customer. Why?

Well, I think somewhere along the way from the retail bosses offices to the agents of an outsourced call center, the idea of service gets lost. Try to send a message too far and it will fade away. Pass the message through enough people that don’t care about it and it will distort into numbers, statistics and targets.

Speaking about statistics, you may have read in our sidenotes that Apple was ranked number one in both desktop and notebook technical support. And these facts don’t come from a biased magazine test. They’re the result of a survey directed to the very people that need the service. According to them, Apple gives better help than any other IT company. The question is; what makes Apple stand out?

Apple has made quality a part of their culture and the people there truly believe in their products. What’s really interesting is how throughly Apple communicates this culture and how deep it actually is. It involves a unified idea that stretches to every department and team of their company, and every part of every product they ever make.

It’s sad to see that most companies put numbers before people. To survive, I guess they have to. But we should make it part of our culture to, whenever possible, look out for the user and his experience. The mind of the customer is a goldmine. It is the state of that mind that declares a business a success or a failure.

Dig, adapt and occasionally bring out the explosives - that’s what Apple does.

The aim appears mainly to be claiming that customers can get higher performing hardware for less money. It is all compared to Apple products, shown off as a “smart alternative”. Furthermore, allowing customers to freely choose operating system reflects Psystar’s embracement of Open Source*.

Following options for OS are available:

• Mac OS X Leopard
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows Vista
• Ubuntu Linux

I bet many people have found the idea of Open Computer very amusing. Some, because they in general don’t appreciate the fanaticism around Apple and find a media fed hype foremost to be their greatness. Applause to someone making noise, attempting to highlight flaws and Apple not appearing as unique as they have been given credit for.

Well, here’s a flash.

Others are amused because people buying Apple products today are aware. They already willingly pay for the name, the design and whatever Apple stands for. The fact that Apple most likely will sue Psystar’s asses for a number of reasons will provide these people with the last laugh.

Open Computer can be compared with trying to sell a fillet mignon on McDonald’s. There are two reasons in particular as to why this applies. People go there because they know what they get; security. Secondly, the purpose of their visit is not looking for a cheap fillet mignon.

*Note that the option to get Mac OS X Leopard with free installation is available, however not legal.

On April 17, 2008, Apple’s application for a patent became public. It regards Enhancing Online Shopping Atmosphere . You might ask yourself what that means, unless you are familiar with the term “Second life.”

I will hereby attempt to summon my view of Apple’s concept, but be aware that a complete readthrough of the patent should be made in order to get the full picture of the idea.

Today, customers that are buying (Apple) products online will see a website where they can navigate, view pictures and descriptions of products, optimally also in a package of beautiful design and a well developed interface.

Why is this not enough?

Admitted, flexibility to shop at any time of the day without leaving the house, just a few mouse clicks away, brings several advantages. But on the other hand it also lacks physical experience; touching, feeling and getting that personal service. The consequence of that reveals in many people today choosing to do their shopping in real life instead.

Needless to say, the environment in online shopping differs a great deal from shopping in physical stores.

With the revolving concept of developing a virtual world out of an online store, containing staff and customers in the shape of avatars, Apple will hopefully take online shopping to a different level.

How? Possibly it will endevaour an, at least visibly, more alive experience for the customer. The questions are will this idea work without fuss and whether customers, including laymen, will prefer it to the alternatives available or not. They might as well get fraught by the unfamiliar newness. To win people over, including those comfortable customers, good advertising and marketing is crucial. (I suspect by previous experience, this is something already recognized by Apple.)

Keeping it simple but still creative, they have succeeded before and I think if sticking to that concept, they will again.
What differs this from Eworld is yet to be discovered though.
That will also most likely determine whether this will be a success or not.

The slogan for Apple is “think different”. A late example of just that is the updated version of iPod shuffle. Some people might say it is an accessory or a well-known toy, for some it is a part of life. It is tiny, recyclable and it might even cure AIDS.

While other companies produces more and more features in digital audio players in order to entertain and seduce customers, iPod shuffle is made for us that appreciate simplicity. Quality is what it’s all about. No “extra extra”, but a stripped down-to-earth digital audio player that has the bonus of being extremely mobile with its smart clip and modest size.

Add to that it being a visually discreet item. All because of thoughtful design.

Technically brilliant functionality goes hand in hand with the design of the double dutied headphone jack that also serves function of a dock connector. 12 hours of battery life is alright. Should it however not be, there is a possibility to charge on the go. A portable computer available is however needed.

For the downside, I cannot find much. Color blind people [note from editor/god: ouch, you got me] might not benefit by the various colored light indications for the battery life. At times in heavy traffic or other noisy environments, the original earphones supplied may not be sufficient for the optimal audio experience. If losing iPod shuffle, it might be more difficult feeling the loss (literally) compared to other digital audio players. It might also happen that the person noticing you losing it rather have it for themselves instead of returning it to its rightful owner.

When it comes to using Ipod shuffle, the manual is also stripped down and minimalistic. I suspect more people might actually read it just because they realize it being worth the time. If not appealed by the facts, it is possibly worth a laugh just because of the extraordinary user interface that so over-clearly is shown off here.

“Connect to USB port on computer (not keyboard) to set up and begin charging.”

Next to that a picture has also been added. If a wish of saving the manual for future need is in place, just fitting it into a wallet works just fine.

People find music important at times. What gives them quality in their time spent listening to music differs. They might enjoy a pair of good earphones, a mix of sounds that has been spent hours and hours on or simply, plain flexibility.

Here is where to get it.

1 GB of hatred can soon be exchanged with love. In one moment, one feeling, one iPod shuffle. Certain mood craves certain music. The opportunity to renew music regularly is not new, but to have the time to thoughtfully choose all songs while filling up is an advantage that comes with this sweet package deal. It doesn’t take a lifetime to accomplish either, 1 GB is just about the perfect compromise. For those who want, 2 GB is also available.

Engrave, establish, evolve, enjoy. iPod shuffle.