Jul 25
MoggyAngry Birds, App Store, Apple, Software, iPad
Sketchbook Pro (£4.99)
I love this app, and in many ways the best I have. However there are a couple of niggles that stop me from rating this 5 stars, and with any luck these will be addressed in forthcoming updates.
- when importing a photo for a new layer, there is no way to rotate, resize or adjust the imported photo on the canvas, which is very restricting
- a crop tool would be nice, rather than the standard 4:3 canvas
- a text tool, so we can type into images
The great thing is that I apart from these things, I can’t find anything to complain about, as such. 
Tracking my finger is very good, the zoom is fantastic and best of all, I brought it when it was half price!! Horrahh!
My rating: 4 out of 5
Pages (£5.99)
Don’t get me wrong, I like the Pages app, and recommend it, but here are a few annoyances that I would like to see addressed in future updates:
- being able to save and upload to MobileMe iDisk. Currently you to sync via iTunes, or use the buggy iWork.com service.. Or email.
- being able to print wirelessly… Just make it work!
- ability to import/add more fonts to the iPad library.
- a way to draw directly (ie. Diagrams, pictures, etc) into the app. This would be really helpful for lecture note taking.
Other than that, it’s very polished and good to use.
My rating: 3 out of 5
Angry Birds HD (£2.99)
The HD version couldn’t have been executed better, it really is brilliant. I was effected by the previous version that kept on crashing on opening when connected to the internet, but it was fixed quickly which shows great feedback response. However, I have two digs with the HD version…
1. Is it really worth £2.99? The original app is 59p, which is five times less, but I wouldn’t call this game five times better.
2. Thanks, your making my iPhone feel really annoyingly small!
My rating: 4 out of 5
The Metro (free)
Right, the good…
- free, very intuitive and easy to use
- really takes advantage of the iPad’s large screen
- not very buggy, simple and effective.
The bad…
…the Metro can’t report news for ****. The articles seem to be written completely by blind, brainless idiots who I’m surprised can only just string together a sentence, most of which are about whatever new errand Cheryl Cole or Russell Brand are up to.
If you are looking for quality journalism for free, just head over to the newly designed BBC news website, and add the icon to the home screen. Simple.
My rating: 3 out of 5
May 29
MoggyApp Store, Apple, Technology, iPad, iPhone/iPod touch
Given that Apple announced the iPad in January, and it is now late May, and the shiny device has only just reached the UK, I am pretty irritated with Apple’s incompetence there. Despite this, I am very happy to finally see the iPad, and delighted that people can actually go use one, rather than just talk about them.
I have been rather quiet about my opinions on the iPad. Since it was announced, I have always said that the iPad has huge potential when the developers get their hands on the SDK, and will only do significantly well with the public at the right price. Now we can finally review those two things. Horrah!
I’ll start with addressing the many things people dislike about the iPad.
- Lack of flash support – In my opinion, this is something that I, if anything, am glad about. Flash is buggy and becoming a dead technology.. and I congratulate Apple in bravely progressing forward with the move. From a personal point, I honestly don’t use many flash sites these days – even I, as a web designer – don’t use flash in my designs.
- “Too much like an iPhone, just larger” – They have the same software operating system (to an extent), but thats about it. If anything its probably more like a MacBook than a iPhone. When you look closer – they are worlds apart, mostly because of the interaction element, just you wait to touchscreen full, non-mobile websites on the utterly gorgeous 9″ screen.
- “Not a computer” - I’ve said this time and time again. That’s because it’s not meant to be a computer. It’s a multimedia device, and in that, there is no need for USB ports, physical keyboards, massive speakers, etc. Too right, if it’s software was not iPhone OS, but Mac OSX and designed to function as a computer, then yeah, I’d be annoyed… but it’s not a computer!
- No phone function – well what are you going to do!? Hold the damn thing up to your ear? Yeah, you’ll look cool. If you are really desperate… there is a Skype app for you.
Talking of apps, I am very pleased to see some great names out there. My favourite iPhone game, Angry Birds, now has an Angry Birds HD for iPad. Newspapers such as the Guardian (free) and Murdoch’s Times (a tenner a month) are making their content available on the iPad. And this free IMDb app, sums up the whole 9″ touchscreen format, and I think if developers go down this route, the iPad has a very promising future.
But there are flaws, and annoyances. I am annoyed about the lack of camera, I would have liked to hear of better sound quality, and I am irritated by Apple’s constant going on about “HD movies on the iPad”. The iPad has a terrible 4:3 screen resolution of 1024×768, when the minimum for a HD quality video is 1280×720. Not good enough, Apple! Only say that when you give the iPad 1280×960 screen, please.
But my biggest gripe of all, the one that really matters – the price. Thanks to the clueless American mortgage lenders who initially started this whole mess, the dollar to the pound is terrible, and while many thought my price predictions were too high, they were for the most part, pretty accurate (give or take a few tenner’s). The cheapest iPad will set you back £429 (which is roughly the same as an iPhone 3GS on pay as you go) – and If you don’t already have an iPhone, I know for sure which I’d get first.
So would I get one? Put it this way – If I was given one, I would be delighted, use it to it’s potential and love it. If I had to buy one at my own expense from hard earned cash? Not at that price I wouldn’t…
And after all, this summer I intend to buy myself a new iMac. Money needs to be saved for that!
May 13
MoggyApple, Mac, Website
The other day I purchased a GelaSkin cover for my MacBook Pro – it was about £20 – and unlike most retailers, is actually designed for my non-unibody old MacBook! Woop! I decided to get this Union Jack cover – I’m so patriotic!
For those that don’t understand – GelaSkins, according to their website are “removable covers for protecting and customizing your portable devices. They feature stunning, photo-quality graphics ranging from fine art prints to contemporary urban images designed by our growing family of artists from around the globe. Stand out in the crowd with personalized protection from GelaSkins.”
I got mine today – and it looks great! The application was no problem at all, the design is brilliant (matching much of my other Union Jack memorabilia), and the skin comes off just as easy as it goes on.
Plus, I am happy to see so many more designs for every other person out there – trust me, there is something for everyone. You can browse the GelaSkins website, Amazon, or the site I got mine from – UrbanRetro. Prices vary a bit, but I spose it’s up to you!
Anyway, I’m out. Can’t be arsed with a full review, but a star rating? Dunno… maybe 5 out of 5?
Mar 07
MoggyApple, Keynote Event, Rumor, iPhone/iPod touch
In today’s strain of boredom, I had a look at Apple’s iPad pricing, and decided to work out what the most probable prices for the device will be when it gets released here in “late April” (cheers, Steve, you promised us late March back in January).
For starters, these are the confirmed US Dollar prices in America:
And then, I did a bit of Maths.
- Firstly, taking a direct exchange price into GBP at today’s exchange rate
- Then adding 17.5% VAT
- Then adding an average inflation based on other Apple products and their UK pricing
- Then making a logical decision of UK price points.
You can see all my working out in this PDF document.
And then, I finally came to these 6 price points. Lets see how close I am when the real prices get released 
Update (9th April ‘09): It’s been a month, and since then, the exchange rate has changed (for the worse!) from 0.661 to 0.651, meaning the prices could be a bit more that this. Having said that, I doubt it will make too much difference…!
Jan 26
MoggyApple, Mac, Web Design, Website
Apple, the company of absolute perfection and absolutely no room for error, has buggered up… and I know it’s industrially sad of me to point this out… but I just find it weird.
You’ll notice there is a difference between the horizontal viewing scroll bars on the USA and UK versions of Apple’s Mac website. It appears that Safari only exists in the States, despite the Safari website on the UK section exists, completely normally. Bizzare right? Check it out (click for larger previews):
So there you go. Do I deserve a reward? Or is there some anal reason why this is meant to be?
Jan 24
MoggyApple, Keynote Event, Mac, Rumor, iPhone/iPod touch
On Wednesday, Apple will be holding a media event in San Francisco to release a “new creation”. It’s very exciting news in the world of Mac-fans and alike, they all have one thing in mind… a shiny new touchscreen device from Apple… somewhere between the iPhone and a Mac.
It sounds pretty cool… but I’m not so convinced.
First of all… every single tablet that has ever been released has been, to say the least, shit. Low battery life, big bulky things, little point or use, etc. Then there is the eBook, such as the Amazon Kindle… and every single one of those has been… er… shit, and lacking the functionality a standard computer would have.
Next, what will the point of this device actually be? There is nothing I can’t do with the aid of my MacBook Pro and my iPod touch. Both have internet. Both have email. Both have Mac applications and App Store apps, respectively. The thing that differs, really, is the hardware. My MBP is 15″ in size, well beyond 4 times the size of the 3.5″ we seen in the iPhone. I also have a physical keyboard, mouse, trackpad, webcam, etc. It just makes more practical sense, so long as you don’t mind the size, to have a laptop… and if size is the problem, a netbook. The success of the iPhone and the iPod touch is because of the ecosystem and environment of apps, touchscreen, 3G networking and elegant looking iPod, all in a pocket.
My worry is that because of the “ecosystems”, as I have labelled it, around the Mac and the portable iPhone/iPod… is there really room for another ecosystem like that in the middle? This brings me on to what sort of operating system this device will run. So far, people have said either iPhone OS or Mac OS X. Of those two, I would much, much prefer OS X, but it seems I am not fitting the majority of opinion. Though I think we will see a clever integration of both. It makes me wonder if there will be an almost “dumbed down” version of OS X for this device – but still with support for Mac applications, or even iPhone apps. I wouldn’t like to see the latter, personally, as screen resolutions, mixed up features, etc. will all go horribly wrong along the line somewhere.
Oh god, then don’t get me started on the name. iSlate? iPad? I’d rather not… I’d much prefer the “Apple Slate” or “Apple Pad”… since the “i” has been so overused… and the Apple TV device doesn’t have an obligatory “i”.
So what actually are we going to see? Well, who knows. I guess we’ll find out in under 96 hours time. Will I be watching? Probably. Will I be amazed? Possibly…
And here is one of my past tweets to sum up what I expect…
Update: Ok, it seems like I won’t be getting my full OS X, judging by what everyone is saying… bugger. Therefore I will bet any money that it will run a more advanced iPhone OS with a compatible version of iWork and iLife on the device. It’s either that… or the tablet will be a flop.
Jan 11
MoggyApple, Me, Software, iPhone/iPod touch
Today was mostly spent trying to simply… work… my iPod touch. It’s a year old now, I’ll give it that, and it has been through a lot… but it should still work fine.
Firstly, it died while I was listening to a great tune on my new bad ass headphones. The iPod then decided to rid itself of the volume controls… and the speaker wasn’t working. No music at all. Turns out it thought it was connected to an iPod dock and trying to work likewise. Plugging it into a computer then did something… shock, it worked, only to find it didn’t every time I unplugged it. I managed to fix the problem by tricking it when restarting the device, unplugging it in the process.
So I’m on my way home, and the next problem occurs. Volume. The device is down in my pocket, and I reach down to press the exterior button for up-volume, only to find it goes up… way up. It maxes out, and every time I tried to pull down the volume down it just went back up again. Rather irritated, I rebooted it again.. for about the 5th time today.
When I’m actually at home, something bizzare happens. Turns out after and during all of this, the speaker built into the device wasn’t working. Not just in the music functions, everything, all the apps. After a bit of wondering, it turns out something was wrong with the headphone socket… it was trying to tell me headphones were plugged in all the time, even when it had the headphones unplugged.
Numerous reboots, syncs, charges and restores later… it stayed completely the same. FML.
At this point, I gave up and upgraded the iPod software. Turns out it had 3.0 and 3.1.2 was available.. which I’ve now upgraded to… and surprise surprise, everything now works!
This post is not a ‘FML’ post, nor a dig at Apple or the product… but I am actually offended when the iPod, a lifeless inanimate object tries to tell me I’m doing something wrong.. like that theirs a dock connected. Or my headphones are plugged in. NO, they are not. Now, fuck off and get working again.
Dec 01
MoggyApple, Computer, Mac, Random, Windows
Something I have noticed over the past few days is how people respond to a “Mac or PC” conversation. Has anyone else noticed this:
A Mac user will always comment on a PC by saying “Mac’s are so much simpler to use and do things on” AND THEN comment of specific details – not bashing on PC’s at all.
A PC user will always comment on a Mac by saying one of two things – firstly “Mac’s suck” or secondly, for horribly technical people, a ramble on about how a PC is cheaper, might work better and all that stuff – bashing Mac’s at any possible opportunity.
So, why is it that Mac users are just so much more accepting of their computer and nicer in conversations like the above?
Sep 17
MoggyApple, Mac, Software, Update
If you have a mid-2008 or earlier MacBook Pro (this one, the previous gen, non-unibody), and you have upgraded to Snow Leopard – you may have discovered this fantastic new feature that wasn’t previously available for our model.
Snow Leopard adds the four-finger trackpad gestures, when Leopard could only previously handle three-finger gestures on this generation MacBook Pro. Yes, the unibody MacBook Pro’s could do the four-finger gestures in Leopard, but Snow Leopard extends the compatibility to all previous MacBook Pro’s (though someone may need to confirm this for me.)
More
Sep 09
MoggyApple, Keynote Event, iPhone/iPod touch
I am SICK and TIRED of logging onto my Twitter page or YouTube account and simply seeing an endless stream of bollocks about a coming up Apple event. Ok, I know I used to get excited about events like these in the past, so I’m not going to take the piss, but that was the old Apple that used to introduce Mac computers at Media events. Now it’s just the iPhone, something about the App Store, and for this media event today – iPod’s.
I’m happy that Apple is a strong company and whatever they may release today will be some cool new product (probably a new iPod touch and iPod nano with cameras judging by rumours…), but seriously, WHY THE FUCK ARE WE GETTING SO EXCITED.
A NEW IPOD TOUCH. WOW. As you already know, I already have one, and I have no intentions of getting a new one. This is not to mention that every other Apple devotee around the world probably has either an iPod touch or an iPhone… so they don’t actually need a new one. People have to realize that what Apple is announcing today is a big announcement for the music industry, not for Apple fans – unless of course you are brand new to the Apple world, and you want to buy yourself an iPod… but, for the most part, those people are found few and far between.
So when, I see people tweeting “I’m looking forward to the Apple event today”… and this is not a stab at anyone in particular, it’s bollocks, you’re not! You have an iPhone already, and none of these iPod’s you’re gunna buy. You are only excited because you are attached to Apple that much, and to you, I say, get a life.
My opinions. As I say, this post, and all my other posts are aimed at absolutely noone in particular, this is just me voicing my opinion. If you disagree, feel free to comment – I won’t mind at all.
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