Nintendo is not Apple
^ That’s a compliment, not an insult. The similarities between Nintendo and Apple seem overwhelming at first blush: They both develop tightly integrated hardware/software experiences. Apple’s...
View Article(Android) Notifications: Useful Apps and Extensions
Just another day at the Android 4.3 notification office. Notifications are the one thing that Android has always done better than iOS. Even Android 1.0 from 2008 had status bar notifications, a feature...
View ArticleApps and social media fatigue
If I were to graph the number of apps installed on any device I own since I got my first Android phone in the summer of 2011 (an HTC Inspire), it would be left-skewed. A combination of concerns about...
View ArticlePlants vs Zombies 2
I don’t think much of “free-to-play” games. The adjective is disingenuous; if the criminally unfair Candy Crush Saga is any evidence, F2P games are more expensive than a fully paid iOS or Android...
View ArticleApps and social media fatigue
If I were to graph the number of apps installed on any device I own since I got my first Android phone in the summer of 2011 (an HTC Inspire), it would be left-skewed. A combination of concerns about...
View ArticleStrong versus weak dollar (also, Apple)
A fistful of dollars/for a few barrels more Everyone wants a strong dollar, right? In the U.S., politicians will pay lip service to the notion of a strong dollar – i.e., in their minds, a dollar that...
View ArticleThings to try on iOS 8
In a city like Chicago, it can feel like iOS in in the majority, market share stats notwithstanding. Everyone has an iPhone out on the L, usually browsing Facebook or playing a game. I have noticed a...
View ArticleObservations 3 weeks after switching from Android to iOS
Much of this blog was originally about Android. I wrote numerous guides, longform articles, and lists about how to use Google’s mobile OS. Traffic grew exponentially after I began delving into how to...
View ArticleStephen King’s “Cell” and the pre-iPhone era
Just started reading a Stephen King novel from 2006, “Cell.” Right before 9/11, I went through a phase in which I read most of his 1970s and 1980s work, before my reading time was taken up by more...
View ArticleThe how and the why of Yo
Yo. Yo the Word It’s a simple greeting with a complex etymology. It may come from the Old English and Norwegian words for yes (ġēa and jo, respectively) and was first recorded as a greeting in 1859,...
View ArticlePre55 Play: The Debate Over EDM, Authenticity, and Technology in Music
The “No Synths!” proclamation from the gatefold sleeve of Queen’s “A Day at the Races” album. Traditional InstrumentsIn the city I live in, Chicago, the owners of the historic Congress theater came to...
View ArticleFacebook’s strategy revealed in creepy bus stop ad
I was going to lunch today, walking along Lake St. in Chicago to a Jimmy John’s (conveniently next to a Starbucks, where I would get a coffee afterward) and I saw a Facebook ad. No, not one of those...
View ArticleObservations 3 weeks after switching from Android to iOS
Much of this blog was originally about Android. I wrote numerous guides, longform articles, and lists about how to use Google’s mobile OS. Traffic grew exponentially after I began delving into how to...
View ArticleThe comprehensive guide to Plants vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time
Short intro I wrote an entry about Plants vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time earlier this year covering some basic strategies for making it through the game without spending anything. PVZ2 is the most...
View ArticleApple, Google, and 3rd-Party Developers
Amid the Colorful colors and parallaxes at Monday’s WWDC keynote, tucked away in the lower-left, was an icon that struck terror into the hearts of literally thousands of developers: a tiny flashlight....
View ArticleWWDC 2013: The Difference Between iOS and Android
After the rambling 3.5 hour keynote at I/O, Apple’s two hour Keynote was enough to make even me jealous. Tim Cook et al moved nimbly between hardware refreshes, OS X updates, and the radically new iOS...
View ArticleWhat would it take for Google to collapse?
A recent thread in /r/AskReddit posed a similar question. The comments were revelatory, with plenty of resigned jokes about the heat death of the universe, antitrust proceedings, and the (unlikely)...
View ArticleApple, Google, and 3rd-Party Developers
Amid the Colorful colors and parallaxes at Monday’s WWDC keynote, tucked away in the lower-left, was an icon that struck terror into the hearts of literally thousands of developers: a tiny flashlight....
View ArticleFlappy Bird and video game controllers
When worlds clash – one free game advertising another. Also, platinum medal! Many iconic games can be grasped in just a few seconds, yet can fascinate us for years, either because of their novelty...
View ArticleThe ins and outs of Plants vs Zombies 2: Tricks, tips & miscellany
I don’t think much of “free-to-play” games. The adjective is disingenuous; if the criminally unfair Candy Crush Saga is any evidence, F2P games are more expensive than a fully paid iOS or Android...
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