You know what, I’m loving this concept video for the next ios 7. I hope it comes true as it looks great!
Archive for Software
twitcam: twitter with video broadcast
This could be a very late post but I just found out that twitter also offers a video streaming service call twitcam. 3 steps will get you online, step 1 connect your web cam, step 2 login to twitter, step 3 hit the broadcast button in twitter. done. Check it out here.
Google street view timelapsed
Some very smart people have created a program which turns google street views into what they call ‘Hyperlapse’, you will understand after watching the clip. The good news is, you can play with it to create your very own hyperlapse! Check it out here.
My take on Facebook Home
If you haven’t heard, Facebook just launched a new home on Android, when I say Home, I meant a new ‘Skin’ that lives on Android phones. When installed, this ‘skin’ would basically takeover your home screen and functionality and turn it into a Facebook phone!!
So, what is Facebook Home? This is basically a brand new experience Facebook wants you to take on board with every aspect of using your Android phone. Why do I keep saying Android phone? That is because this new Home cannot exist on any Apple IOS products as Apple do not allow for such customisation.
So, a quick breakdown on what Facebook Home is all about:
- When you first turn on your phone, you no longer get a Home screen, this is now overtaken by what Facebook call it a ‘Cover Feed’, which is basically Facebook status updates with pretty pictures
- You can flick through these feeds using swipe gestures and double tapping would ‘Like’ the status
- Comments and messages can be easily access through these feeds
- A new feature call ‘Chat heads’ is pop-up profile pic of someone who messages you and sits on top of any Apps that you may be using. Tapping this pic would bring up a comment/message box where you can reply quickly
- All the usual Android Apps and functionality still works with this skin and can be access through your profile
- A new Facebook Phone will be launch with Home pre-installed made by HTC and will be named ‘First’, this phone is a mid-range handset, much of the technical specs are still being finalised
- Note, not all current Android phones will be able to install Facebook Home, so far only selected handsets from Samsung and HTC are on the list, I suppose this list should grow over time.
- Monthly software updates to be released to keep the Home app as updated as possible
Judging by the hands-on demo from Facebook, this ‘Skin’ really are meant for people who lives and breathe Facebook. The concept sounds interesting and it definitely looks very pretty and smooth, but my personal experience with facebook feeds are usually fill with Ads, baby photos and motivational pics. Now, do I really want to turn on my phone and see my friend’s 2 yr old eating Oreos or an Ad to buy shampoo? Not really. I’m happy to keep Facebook outside of my usual phone experience but for many others, this could be a game changer for them. Anyhow, the idea seems great for Facebook, not so much for Google or Apple since it completely takes over the OS user experience.
The Home App will be available for download on the Google play store from April 12 and limited to some handsets only. More interesting reads can be found here.
AntennaPod: a podcast manager
I love listening to podcast, in fact, I listen to podcast a lot. Now that I have switched to Android, I have been searching for a good free podcast manager app to replace itunes on the iphone. I like to emphase on the word ‘Free’, I believe there are many great free Apps there waiting to be discovered and I have made a pledge to find them all (in other words, I’m a cheap skate…).
So after trialling a few ‘Free’ apps (many of these have a paid version with the ‘Free’ portion crippled) I finally settle on a simple yet fully functional podcast app call AntennaPod. All I wanted was an app that will pull my feeds every time a new episode appears and this is exactly what AntennaPod does.
You subscribe to all your usual podcasts and hit refresh, that’s it, all done. You can set it check for new episodes and to auto download. You can set the time intervals to check for updates and also set it check/download only on wifi (thus saving on your data plan).
The only problem I have with this app is to search for podcast, you need to enter the url of the feed, I tried using the search feature but it just can’t seem to find the podcast I want. All in all, a good solid free podcast manager that everyone should try. May not be the prettiest but a great little app to check out on the Google play store here.
Google reader is dead
Last week Google announce that Google reader will ceased to exist starting July this year. This is sad news for me, I have been an loyal user of this great app and it is how I check and catch up on all my favorite news and events.
I always liked RSS as it is simple and straight forward to use, Google reader brings all my news feed into one common interface which makes it easy and simple for me. Sadly I will miss this great tool which I have been using for almost 10 years.
So what are the alternatives to reader, people have been taking about feedly, personally I haven’t tried it but will need to in the coming weeks as I search for a good replacement. I want something which is not too graphics intensive as I like to read on the go (well not actually reading while on the go but you know what I’m saying).
So until then I would milk as much out of reader as I can, hopefully with the online petition the public can get Google to keep reader alive for awhile longer.
If you are like me and make use of Google reader a lot, please help by signing the petition here. You can make a difference!
Apple IOS 6
I have an iphone 4S, like every iphone user, we all wish we had the dough to upgrade to an iphone 5. But sadly, that has not happen (yet). So the next best thing is to have the iphone 5 experience, which is IOS 6. Upgrading to IOS 6 is a pleasure, yes, I said pleasure, this is because it is the most hassle free process ever. All you do is say “Yes” to the software upgrade under settings and your phone will begin the journey, and about 1.5hrs later, boom, there she is IOS 6.
So, how does it feel, well, exactly like the previous version, there isn’t much of a difference at first as everything looks and feel the same. It’s only when you start using it, then you get the “new” experience, some good, some bad.
The most obvious is Youtube, it’s gone, you now need to download the official Google Youtube app from the App Store as it no longer comes pre-install with IOS6. Which by the way is pretty good compared with the old Youtube app, go play with it and you’ll see.
Now, the new Map App which is Apple’s attempt at making Maps and my first impressions, it looks nice. All the essentials are there, the 3D feature is nice but after playing with it for some time, it’s more gimmick than useful. The turn-by-turn is a great addition, that is the one thing I hated about the old Google maps on the iphone is the lack of voice assisted navigation. The problem with it is the search results, many time I would search for some business and it returns nothing, which is both disappointing and annoying. I have not seen the problems many others have observed with streets names and locations. Overall, I prefer the old Google Maps.
The camera app now comes with panoramic, which has been pointed out by many of my Android using friends that it’s been around for some years. Better late than never I say. It’s easy to use but one annoying thing is that it pans from left to right only, why can’t we pan the other way too Apple, why?
There is now a “Do not Disturb” feature where you can schedule no pickups during certain time and also reply calls with a pre-defined Txt like “I’m in a meeting” or “Piss-off, I dun wanna talk righ now”. Passbook, which is a new app that don’t work in Oz is pretty much useless at the moment. Also, SIRI got an upgrade, meh… didn’t notice any difference.
What else, oh, they change the GUI of the phone App, looks ok I guess. So, that’s it, IOS 6, go update now!! You have nothing to loose, except Google Maps and Youtube….
Bring to life your instagram posts
If you are an vivid Instagram user ( I used to be one, follow me @cooleye), here’s 13 ways you can bring your post to the real world. I kinda like the idea of the tiles, imagine your bathroom are lined with it. Would make a great conversation starter. Check it out here.
iPhone app: photosynth
I love this app, it’s made by Microsoft and it’s free. What does it do? Well, you used your photo to take 360 degrees of photos and the app stitches it up. Doesn’t sound too flash but the results are awesome. Check it out at here. You’ll know what I mean.
