the laanba blog

Gowalla Goodbye

I am sad that I appear to be saying goodbye to Gowalla.  The location check-in app had a major overhaul a few weeks ago and all the things I loved about it are now gone.  The app has now been relegated to the last page of my iPhone and it is barely used anymore.  I can't bring myself to delete it just yet. 

I loved Gowalla.  I even risked some international charges on my last trip to Panama so I could get the Panama pin.  Just as I wrote about almost two years ago I liked that  I could be the shy loner that I am and still use a check-in app.   It didn't matter if I had a lot friends because I could collect stamps, pin and items and it was still fun and useful.  

Items was my favorite part of the app.  It wasn't just about checking in somewhere or becoming "mayor" of some place but of being on a virtual scavenger hunt.  I loved finding the beautifully drawn items and swapping them out with others.  I liked seeing how far an item had come and trying to collect them all.  Item play got more difficult as Gowalla began to let it languish, but I still love it to this day.  I took  screenshots of all my items before they eliminated them. 

And that's the problem. Those things are gone.  Now Gowalla wants to be a travel app and storytelling app. When I start a story (check-in) it wants me list who is with me (nobody Gowalla.)   It searches and IF it finally finds my location it is slow to finish the process.  Today I pulled the app up after ignorning it for more than a week and even though I thought it checked me in when I got home I discovered it had not. The whole app is slow and buggy and all the things that made it unique and different and fun are gone.  All you have to do is look at comments on Gowalla's blog, their Facebook page and especially at their reviews in iTunes/App store to see that I am not alone.  It's like watching the Netflix debacle, but in slow motion.

I didn't even have a FourSquare account until a few weeks ago.  I can't stand the automatic check-ins from FourSquare on Twitter.  I wish people would turn them off.  I don't like the mayor concept.  I don't like that I can't see who has checked into a place previously, only who is there now. I don't like that I can't see the list of places a person checked in.  The site design is not pretty, the colors are garish and their badges are plain.  Yet with all that the Foursquare app has been more enjoyable to use the last few weeks than Gowalla.  And that's the saddest statement of all. 

Siri

I was sitting here wondering if I could use Siri for my posts when I go to Panama.

I'm not very good at it, but I imagine I would get better with practice. I seem to only speak in short sentences and I don't know how long the dictation can go on. And it might be a little awkward with my aunt in the room listening to me talk about personal thoughts and feelings about the trip. It certainly is easier than typing everything with my two thumbs though.

This post was written with dictation by Siri.

New Arrival

This almost seems impossible to believe, but I can't find a single reference on this blog to my purchase of the iPhone 3GS in June of 2009.  I know I bought it then because in early July I took a video with it and it had only been released a few weeks before.  I can't believe that I let such a major Apple moment pass me by without documenting it.

Well not this time.  I waited those two years and four months and my reward today was a nice shiny iPhone 4S.  There were many times when I wanted to break down and get the iPhone 4, but in the end I'm glad I waited.  The 3GS was a great phone, a workhorse.  The 4S is going to seem like a race car compared to it. The camera alone... I'm going from 3 megapixels to 8.  Everything about the new phone is sleeker.

This is the first time that I bought an Apple product and did not get the most expensive model i.e. the most storage space.  I stayed with the 32GB version which is what I had on my old phone. I think it will be fine since I don't take that many videos and if I need more room I can always pull stuff off.  It also makes me feel like if I did want to upgrade to the iPhone 5, whenever that may happen, that it would be ok since I didn't spend quite as much money on this one as I could have. I have been in a habit of skipping generations, but now I feel I don't have to. That sounds kind of silly for a $100 price difference but the mind is strange place.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get a phone on release day.  In the past you could reserve a phone for pick up in the Apple store, but this time it was only first come, first serve or pre-order and have it delivered.  I couldn't do that because I would have had to sign for it and I can't do that at work.  So I took my chances that somewhere I would be able to find a phone.  I went to an AT&T store near my work at about 6 in the evening.  My hope was that there wouldn't be as many Apple crazies on the east side of town.  This worked out.  I had to wait about 15 minutes before I was helped and the sales lady told me I got one of the last phones in the color and size I wanted.  Whew.  She said they sold hundreds of phones that day and had been sold out of the 16GB by 1 in the afternoon.  She also said that it was funny when people who did not follow Apple would come into the store to pay their bill or for something else and would be confronted with a packed sales floor and lines of people.

The case is from Case Mate.  The image is one of my photos, this one specifically.  I'm not big on cases and my old phone went almost half of its time with me without a case, but I thought I would give it a go this time.  I was impressed with Case Mate.  It was easy to upload and edit my photo to the case and it only took 6 days from the time I uploaded the photo to the time it was sitting in my mailbox.  It was only $35 to do so if I get tired of this one I can always do another one.

So here begins the iPhone 4S era.  

TextEdit

If you have a Mac you have TextEdit, the uber simple word processing program.  I use TextEdit all the time to write down thoughts, to compose Assignment Houston write ups, to save random things.  TextEdit is great.  And now I love it just that much more. 

I found out today thanks to the genius of Twitter that this is what is lurking on the icon of TextEdit.  I didn't know!  You have to pull the graphics up on the icon to see it and who would ever think of doing that.  Nobody except Steve Jobs.

In Memoriam

I've read a lot of tribute articles today on Steve Jobs.  As one article stated there are so many different directions and focuses that can be discussed from technology, to business, to music, to movies, to leadership.  On and on and on and Steve made an impact on them all.  But here are links to the seven that stood above the rest.  Memorable tributes all.

Daring Fireball: Universe Dented, Grass Underfoot
If you read only one link read this.  It is exquisitely beautiful.

All Things D: The Steve Jobs I Knew
This is a lovely post and the story about the park is going to go down in Steve Jobs lore. 

GigaOm: Josh, It's Steve Jobs.  We have a really big problem.
The tyrannical Steve Jobs is much discussed.  The one at the end of this story, not so much. 

Facebook: Steve Jobs Photo Booth
These photos were taken while Steve Jobs was testing out filters for the Photo Booth  program.  I am so glad they were saved.

YouTube: The Crazy Ones
This is the famous Crazy Ones ad from Apple, but this one is special because it is narrated by Steve Jobs himself.  It was never aired.  It is amazing to hear these words from the man who while talking about other people is really talking about himself. 

Stanford University: Commencement 2005
If you haven't watched (or preferably read) the commencement address from Stanford you must bookmark this and promise me you will find time to do it one day.  

The Onion: Last American Who Knew What the *@#* He Was Doing Dies
And to end on a light note.  This piece from The Onion. 

UPDATE: Adding this piece by the New York Times.  Heart wrenching.
New York Times: With Time Running Short, Steve Jobs Managed His Farewells 

Steve

I am going to finally upgrade my iPhone (from a 3GS) and tonight I decided to start researching cases.  I was jumping around various Apple websites trying to find out if the 4S and 4 specifications are the same when a headline in the right hand corner of one website caught my eye.  Steve Jobs Dead.

I'm not sure I can really put into words the impact that Steve Jobs has had on my life.  Technology has made my life better and has put me in touch with a world and people I would never have known otherwise.  Of course I would have bought a computer and connected to the internet in a non-Steve Jobs world, but I would not have done it with such ease and with such passion.

My first computer was the Macintosh Performa 6115CD (Power PC 601, 350MB hard drive).  It was a gift from my mother when I graduated from college.  We had talked ahead of time about what I was going to get and it was my job to pick out the computer that I wanted.  I don't remember looking at anything but an Apple, but I know I must have because I am such a big researcher.  I will fully admit that I watched the completely cheesy Performa infomercial more than once before making my decision although I'm not sure if it swayed me. 

I remember walking out of the Best Buy with that very large box.  I was living in Corpus Christi at the time and I remember that it was a cold, overcast day in December.  I remember my mom and I having a hard time putting the desk together (I bought my first electric screwdriver soon after).  I remember being giddy about the simplicity of the instructions.  

I was suddenly connected to the world.  Email, America Online, eWorld.  The shy me who always had problems connecting or talking with people was suddenly able to talk to people behind the safety of my computer screen (this still describes me).  That Performa was not a Steve Jobs computer, but I was hooked.  That was the beginning of my love affair with the internet and my love affair with Apple. Over the years my computers have been an iMac Graphite DV/SE, a Powerbook G4 12", and my current MacBook (I still have all three of these).  I've had a 3rd generation iPod, an iPod nano, an iPod shuffle, an Apple Airport, a Time Capsule, an original iPhone, an iPhone 3GS, an iPad 2, and soon an iPhone 4S.  

I am not shocked at his passing.  Shocked is an overused word in today's society. Steve had been in and out of the hospital, on medical leaves, and looking thinner by the year.  I had gotten so used to a unhealthy Steve Jobs that when I recently watched a documentary on Pixar I was surprised to see what a healthy Steve Jobs looked like.  Even though I knew this day would come it has come much more quickly than I wanted.  I hoped that Steve would have some time with his family after he stepped down as CEO in August, but in the end I guess this isn't a surprise.  Steve loved working, loved being at Apple and he did it almost until the day he died.

I will be sad about this for a very long time.  I am thankful that I got to live in a time in history with Steve Jobs.   I don't think we will see his like again for a long time.

Thank you Steve Jobs. 

The End

STS-135 Landing by NASA HQ Photo [license]

Godspeed

Where do I begin. The end of an era as Atlantis took off towards the heavens. I am sadder than you can imagine to see the end of the space shuttle program.

My mom instilled a love of space and the stars and NASA at a young age. I have watched many shuttle launches. I will never forget where I was when I heard about Challenger AND Columbia. I cried a fair amount then and I cried a fair amount today. I always joke that I am a NASA "groupie". When I meet people that work at NASA I am in awe. I have read countless books on the Apollo program and no matter how cheesy it is I am giddy when I am at Space Center Houston.

I remember the first time I went to Space Center Houston. I was in my early 20s and wasn't feeling my best but marshaled on and did everything I could that day. And then I practically collapsed the next day because I was seriously sick with a sinus infection. I remember when I moved to Houston and realized that the cable channel had NASA TV. Because I was at the home of JSC and NASA! The "groupie" in me was elated.

I am sad that I didn't get to see a launch in person and am sad to see the end of the space shuttle program. I am aggravated that politics is interfering with the exploration of space, something that should be politics free. I am aggravated that NASA constantly gets funding cuts when it costs a fraction of other things in this country costs and is so beneficial. I fear for JSC and its future role in the space program. I can only imagine what the people that actually work at NASA are feeling. An order of magnitude in intensity from what I'm feeling.

I would have loved to see men walk on the moon with Apollo. I would love to see people return to the moon or go to Mars. But I am thankful that I got to see the space shuttle program in its entirety.

Godspeed Atlantis. Godspeed NASA.

UPDATE: A few things I want to share. First there is this blog post by Sarah, a commenter here, on her experience with the shuttle. Sarah is a wonderful writer and you should be reading her blog.  Next is this great comic from Dork Tower.  I've cried once or twice giving up a car so crying over machines isn't new to me, but it still hits home. And finally I wanted to add a video to the post.  

iPhone 4

The last few weeks I have been yammering on Twitter how I want an iPhone 4 no doubt annoying my followers.  I've come close a couple of time to actually buying one.  Yesterday and today I was on my way to the AT&T store to buy one, but turned back when I was a few blocks away.

Here is my reasoning for not buying one right now.  I hope that I can refer to this when I get the urge again.

1.) I really don't have the money.  If my current phone broke or was lost I would have the money to get a new phone, but to just get it because I have some kind of whim, not really.

2.) I haven't heard a compelling reason yet to upgrade from a 3GS.  Every person who has raved about upgrading is coming from a 3G.  I can completely understand that move and if I had a 3G then I would move up without hesitation.  But I have a 3GS which was a big step up from the 3G.  I haven't found anyone who has really told me that moving from a 3GS to an iPhone 4 is a huge deal.

3.) There is a lot of speculation that Apple is going to announce that the iPhone is going to Verizon in January.  I actually haven't had any problems with AT&T and haven't really had a problem with their service, but if I get a new phone now I'll be in a new two year contract.  If I wait my contract will be up around the time that Apple will probably release a new phone (next summer).  I won't necessarily leave AT&T but I will have the option to choose the most affordable plan.

4.) Did I mention I don't really have the extra money?  Or if I did I should probably spend it on some new clothes because my current wardrobe is sad or on getting my car cleaned because it seriously needs it or on the $80 a month I'm going to have to spend for my cat to get her treatment not to mention new cat foods, etc.

Yeah, so I'll wait.  Hopefully patiently.

Grouse

I sat down yesterday to work on my snow pictures (SNOW!) and my hard drive died.  Died.  Dead. RIP. I went through everything I could think of to get it back, but it was gone.  Thankfully I have Time Machine so I should have most of data, but I hate, *hate* being without my computer.  It is currently winging it's way to iResq so they can fix it.  They are my fastest option although I'm a little peeved that the hard drive they installed in August died.  But the hard drive they installed on my Powerbook G4 is running great years after installation so I know it isn't really their fault.  It must just have been a faulty drive.

Since the crazy weather cancelled my weekend work activities my main plan was to do some major photo editing to catch up.  Instead there will be no photo editing and no new photos up until at least Wednesday night, more likely Thursday.  

Thank goodness for my little Powerbook.  I really need to save up next time for a Macbook Pro.  The Pro line really makes a difference.  The little laptop is slow, but it lets me do most of the stuff I need to do.  It staves off the shakes from my internet addiction.

Of course now that I can't do it, I'm dying to edit photos.  Figures.