Clik here to view.
WWDC 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Apple, 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 ArticleClik here to view.
The 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Observations 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Facebook’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 ArticleClik here to view.
Pre55 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 ArticleClik here to view.
The 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Stephen 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Observations 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Things 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Strong 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Apps 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Plants 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 ArticleClik here to view.
Apps 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 ArticleClik here to view.
(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 ArticleNintendo 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