Nocturnal Nick

Around 2 years ago I left an Optus world store happy to have finally gotten my iPhone after waiting 3 weeks for stock to arrive. Now, I find myself eagerly anticipating my Google Nexus One that should arrive sometime tomorrow morning.

A good time, then, to reflect on the goods and bads of the iPhone before a post detailing the unboxing and initial use of the Nexus tomorrow.

The Good:

1. The iPhone was the first touchscreen that could comfortably and practically be used with a finger/s. This was primarily due to its capacitive multi-touch screen, allowing quick typing and such innovative control features as Pinch-to-zoom.
2. Apps. The iPhone was, and still is, the king of mobile applications. These days it is even considered among the mobile gaming devices as so many interesting and fun games have been ported to or developed for the multi-capable unit. It cemented the idea of Apps for phones into many consumers minds, forcing most smartphone developers to rush to catch up. Today there are more than 100,000 apps available in the iTunes store, its closest rival (Google’s Android) boasting little more than a third of that.
3. Internet Tethering: For the last few months I’ve been using my iPhone as a wireless internet modem, both through USB and through Bluetooth. It’s fast, it’s convenient, and it opens my netbook up to a new world of portability.
4. SMS displayed as Threads: The idea of threaded email and sms was arguably pioneered by Google, though this didn’t stop apple from using it for their iPhone OS. And to great effect, as this method of displaying messages (through conversations rather than individual snippets)
5. Push Notifications/Messaging: Though hardly new, the idea that my facebook notifications, emails proximity alerts etc are displayed in real time WHEN THEY HAPPEN astounded me. It seems like such a small thing, but to have this information appear real-time rather than only when I tap “retrieve” or similar is very handy.

And that’s about it for the goods. I’ll admit, only a few are original, and even then, some were only implemented in the OS3 update (middle to late ‘09)

Now onto the Bads.

1. What I just said. I’m sick of waiting for Apple to implement their features in a roll-out fashion, generating hype for each incremental upgrade in software (and hardware, but I haven’t bought into it beyond the 3G). For example, MMS, Push Notifications, Horizontal Keyboard and the ability to record video are all features that didn’t need to be left until OS3 was released, more than year after the 3G was. Whenever I caught myself feeling exited in anticipation of then next release, I calmed myself with thoughts of “It’s about TIME!!”
2. iTunes. For most people, that would be enough said. Before my iPhone, I used Winamp to manage my music, and plugins to allow it to interact properly with my iPod. However with the release and adoption of the iPhone, support in winamp was next to impossible, and what little there was didn’t work with contacts, photos, applications etc. I can’t wait to (and indeed have already in preparation for the nexus) shift back to winamp
3. OS issues: The iPhone operating system is interesting, in that the age old concept of functionality vs stability seems to be thrown out the window. You can re-arrange the application icons. That’s the extent of it. No wallpapers, no custom application icons, no quick-call links. The first thing most people do once they jailbreak their iPhones is to change the wallpaper and change their ringtones (and sms tones). Even with all these restrictions, the iPhone still crashes occasionally, and often has problems running certain applications.
4. 6 different SMS tones. Just 6. And these can’t be changed or added to. Oh the confusion this causes in elevators, phone stores, classrooms, lecture halls, computer rooms, offices, pubs and even at home. I don’t even know HOW apple justifies this limitation.
5. Ok, so ringtones are customizable, but without 3rd party software, the only alternatives are songs that have been purchased through the iTunes music store. And even then only some of them. It’s not a HUGE complaint, but you’d think a phone and MP3 player hybrid would allow MP3 tones.
6. Apple’s DRM/Authorization etc: I can understand apple wanting to control the rights to their music, but since the apple store was pressured into removing the ridiculous DRM on their music, there isn’t any point in the locking of the iPhone to one itunes-enabled machine. Unfortunately, there have been more than one occasion where I’ve wanted to sync my iPhone with my laptop, but haven’t been able to as it is linked to my PC. And every time I’ve formatted my PC, I’ve had to format the iPhone too, losing all my playlists and contacts etc. Thankfully, the iPhone allowed my contacts and calendar to be synced with my google account ensuring that (at least after I’d figured that out) I could easily retrieve them.
7. No Multitasking: Another feature that Apple decided in their wisdom that nobody needed was ommited from both the initial release and all subsequent releases of iPhone OS. The excuse being that it would use too much battery life from an already short 2 days (max), it meant receiving and replying to an sms was frustrating as it would interrupt whatever you were doing on the phone already. Apple attempted to fix this with the OS3 update by allowing applications to receive push notifications, meaning IM apps could alert you without actually running in the background. That said, the push service itself used a significant chunk of battery life, so the solution seemed a bit “round-about”. OS4 is supposed to have limited multitasking, but only to certain API’s. What’s the big deal Apple? Other manufacturers manage, why aren’t you?
8. The unit itself: It’s a good shape. But it’s VERY easy to get dirty. I imagine that 80-90% of people with iPhones have a case, either hard or silicone, and a screen protector. I’ve had a case on it it’s whole life and there are minor scratches and wear marks on the back anyways. It’s just something that Apple has always been good at, making their devices look pretty until they are used.

I’m sure there are more, but I’m done complaining about what was essentially a good couple of years with not a whole lot of problems. With more complicated phones come more complicated ways of doing things/fixing things.

TOMORROW:

The ANDROID experience, on the original (and the best) Google Nexus One!!

So I went and purchase a copy of Battlefield – Bad Company 2 for PC the other day, almost exclusively to compare it to Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2. The results surprised me, both in how far the Battlefield series has come, and that I liked it more than what I consider to be one of the best first person shooters ever made (MW2)

The story isn’t quite as involved as MW2, though it had the potential to be. Essentially the introductory mission sees you playing a commando in WWII infiltrating a Japanese occupied island in the pacific, with the aim of discovering a “scalar weapon” (a prototype weapon of mass destruction). Without going into detail, and I apologise for those of you allergic to spoilers, the mission gets cut off half way when the weapon is activated, and you escape only to be engulfed by the effects of the scalar weapon. The rest of the game takes place late in the Cold War, and essentially involves you and the three other members of Bad Company being hired by the US military to find this weapon, buried under the earth somewhere since 1943. The Russians (USSR) are after the same thing, and so combat ensues.

The gameplay felt much more open than MW2, with wider terrain allowed to be traversed, allowing the player to choose their method of approach rather than being told, such as in MW2. The freedom felt good, especially given the need to pick good cover with BFBC2’s destructible environment.

Finding cover in this game isn’t just a matter of running up to something and crouching. You have to consider the firepower of your enemies and compare that to the strength of the cover around you. For example, if I was to hide in a thin-walled jungle-hut, I can’t expect to be impervious to armor-piercing rounds. That said, even a strong concrete wall will be destroyed if you’re up against a tank or two, sometimes bringing down the ceiling on top of you and eliminating the unrealistic feeling of safety that you have in other cover-based games.

As the story progresses, there are a few twists and turns, cool missions to mirror MW2’s ones (ATVS>Snowmobiles) and snide remarks from your comrades targeted at MW, such as “Nah, we better get in there and get it done before the marines send some sissies with heatbeat monitors on their guns” and “If I was on a snowmobile I’d waste your ass sarge!” – “Yeah, but snowmobiles are for pussies”

Overall, I’m impressed with the game. I’ll certainly be giving the multiplayer a go, but from what I’ve heard the BF maps are game mods are bigger and better than the MW2’s little tiny maps anyway, so thats where I’m sitting

[********--] (8/10)

Today I’m here to talk about some TV I’ve been watching recently, namely Chuck. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks watching it start to “up to date” (saying ‘Finish’ didn’t seem right) and have enjoyed it for the most part.

The general story follows the life of a Californian Buy-More (fictional “JB-HiFi” type store) employee, Chuck (Zachary Levi – Nothing in particular) (. He was expelled from Stanford for cheating on tests (wrongly) and the story begins when his ex-roommate emails him an experimental database of top secret information previously stored on a CIA supercomputer knows as the “Intersect”. Basically anything that Chuck sees with relation to information in that database triggers him to “Flash” and recall all pertinent info on said trigger. Seeing as the last remaining copy of the intersect resides inside Chuck’s brain, he is assigned two CIA handlers Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski – Mass Effect 2) and John Casey (Adam Baldwin – Firefly). Although suddenly lauched into his life of international espionage, he must maintain his cover as a Buy-More employee.

All in all it’s quite entertaining, though at 40 minutes an episode, it occupies a little more time than I’d rather spend on such trivial stories. That said, while the episodes are made to be comical, there are underlying dramas present, and I find myself willing Chuck and Sarah to be together, as they are constantly on and off cover and real relationships. While not as strong as the Pam and Jim effect (from The Office) it has kept me watching through more than one mostly un-eventful episode.

All in all, while definitely worth the watch, Chuck is a show you should watch AFTER all of those you love (For me that includes The Office, Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother).

Chuck is aired on Mondays (Much like BBT and HIMYM)