iPhone OS 3.0 Event - Meh!

Tuesday’s Apple Event drew a lot of attention from the tech media, but in some ways was disappointing. I was trying to get to sleep early (started @2am our time), but did follow one live feed for a bit. I chose gdgt’s live feed and wasn’t disappointed. Ryan & Peter’s feed didn’t crap out and was very good, compared with what happened during MW Jan ‘09.

First, OS 3.0 is slated to be released sometime this Summer, which technically means before 21 September. iPod Touch users will have to fork over an update fee ($10) again, because of this bullshit Apple accounting practice.

Second, the upgrade will have more than 1000 api’s for devs and 100+ new things for users, according to AppleInsider. I’ll go over some of the highlights of the preview (from AI’s article) and give a few comments.

In-App Purchasing - allows apps to sell you additional content, such as game levels or eBooks. This feature sounds great for developers and content providers, but is really just another way to get $ from users.

Peer-Peer Connections - supposed to help you find folks playing the same app or game via Wi-Fi or BT. It allows for more interactivity, but really means more battery drain for you and I.

App-accessory linkage - gives iPhone/iPod Touch accessory makers the ability to make apps to integrate with their hardware accessories. I’m not sure why this is something special, as it seems like something Apple just needed to ‘permit’ during the app submission process.

Push Notification - was supposed to be in the previous OS, but never made it. It allows internet servers to push their content to your device rather than having the device periodically poll the server. This is supposed to improve battery life. I can see this being useful, if you have to have constant updates from your email server.

Turn-By-Turn - allows devs to access the gps data for apps that provide turn-by-turn directions. I can’t help but think that turning the iPhone into a nav system is overkill. I could see it being useful while on foot, but for driving? Please. The iPhone/iPod Touch screen is much too small to be used as a gps nav unit in a car. Anyone using one to navigate while driving would be a hazard on the road. Perhaps this will work for upcoming Apple touch products with sufficiently large screens?

Copy/Paste - something folks have been clamoring for a while. But I have to wonder if it will ever be used much. The iPhone/iPod Touch touchscreen is only somewhat useable for text entry - who types long emails or documents? Not happening. Copy/Paste might be useful in catching a web URL or email address to paste in a message. I’d be happy for the ability to open a url in a new browser window instead.

Landscape Keyboard - some apps don’t allow this currently (e.g., Mail). I hope landscape mode will be allowed for more than just keyboard orientation. How about when I want to select from a list of podcasts (or audio) instead of having to wait for the @#$@# screen to reorient, which results in a useless Coverflow interface for audio.

Messaging (MMS) - Supposed to allow multiple messages with pictures? I suppose they mean SMS allowed to carry pictures.

Voice Memos - if you have the iPhone with speaker this would allow you to take notes or record lectures. But with the awful battery life, I can’t take this feature seriously.

Spotlight Search - For what? I don’t quite get this. I suppose if you have lots of pdf docs and can’t recall which of them have certain content - OK. But if you are searching for content in an email, won’t a search in the mail app do?

A2DP Bluetooth - this will let you use stereo BT headphones, and supposedly activate BT function in 2nd gen iPod Touches (where it is now dormant). I dunno, maybe useful. But I’ve not seen a decent stereo BT headphone on the market (let alone monaural earpieces). If you can’t control the iPod from your BT headphone, I don’t quite see the need.

In summary, it seems that Apple has been very busy adding features to the mobile OS. Many of these address user demands (even though they may not realize they don’t really need them). I can’t help but wonder if the update will be very hefty in terms of drive space and processor demands. Let’s hope they don’t leave 1st Gen iPod touch users (like me) out in the cold.

New 3rd Gen Shuffle Requires Apple Authentication Chip in Headphones

It gets worse. Apple requires any 3rd party headphones for the iPod shuffle have an authentication chip to be compatible, according to iLounge and Engadget. This means higher costs for 3rd party headphone makers. Given that the Shuffle is relatively inexpensive, it is ironic you won’t be able to use inexpensive 3rd party headphones with it. This bogus proprietary technology requirement is a big step backward for Apple. Although many folks only use their Apple earbuds that come with iPods, getting a cheap replacement for the Shuffle’s headphones won’t be likely. The move even prompted former Engadget guru Ryan Block (now of gdgt) to speculate that Apple may implement the same nonsense on all its future iPods. Let’s hope not, otherwise a consumer backlash is possible.

My take - why didn’t Apple take the high road and use the standard for music player controls that already exists on many headphones?

[Note: iLounge gives a fairly negative review of the new Shuffle - surprising given they are typically Apple cheerleaders.]

iPhone OS 3.0 Event

Apple has announced an event on 17 March to announce v3.0 of the iPhone/iPod Touch OS. Actually, it seems they are just announcing that they are working on it with a probably release date. What I can’t quite understand is why? Why does Apple need to do pre-announcements for software? With Jobs on the sideline, is Apple insecure that the tech world has forgotten them? Or maybe they are going to announce a new iPhone app developer program, code named, “RESPECT”.

Nah. That’s not the Apple way.

New Shuffle Shrinks More?

Today Apple released a new form factor for the Shuffle with even smaller (!) physical size and larger capacity, plus a new VoiceOver function for navigating. The (3g?) Shuffle has shrunk to smaller than a typical house key, and is so tiny you can only control it via the included Apple earbud’s cord (yuck!). This suggests that you need to use Apple’s crappy earbuds, or some 3rd party head phones with compatible controls. The new Shuffle also has a 4GB capacity, the same as my old 1G iPod Nano. Apple currently is only offering two colors, grey and black. The Voice Over feature will announce the upcoming tune, and (for the first time) allow you to navigate through different playlists via CG voice choices. VoiceOver works in 14 languages, apparently.

My take - I haven’t seen or used one of these yet (nor do I have a shuffle), but I feel shrinking the shuffle further seems pointless. With the current monochrome color choices, these will be easy to misplace or lose entirely if you drop it. Limiting users to certain headphones with inset controls (or just Apple buds) also feels like a bad move. Those buttons on the Apple Earbuds look pretty tiny to me! The last gen Shuffles seemed just right for manipulating controls with average sized fingers, plus the color choice was good for individualization. My guess is the cost to manufacture the new Shuffle is considerably less, with very few moving parts in a one piece shell. However, until I can see one in person, I’ll hold further judgement.

UPDATE: Looks like you MUST use the Apple Earbuds, at least until 3rd party controllers step up. Plus using the new Shuffle ain’t no party compared to the last one. Engadget’s send up of the situtation is priceless. It’s seems analogous to using QuickSilver on a Mac with no keyboard or monitor - just audio output.

MW Jan '09

Yeah, not posting much recently. But my job on top of having our second child in September has really knocked me out. Stayed up late with Jason to catch Apple’s supposed “last” MacWorld conference in January and have been ruminating about Schiller’s presentation.

First, the coverage was fairly broad with all the usual crew sending feeds, along with newcomer gdgt (Ryan Block & Peter Rojas). Unfortunately, their feed bogged down totally about 30 minutes in and never recovered completely. Too bad for them, as they had the best photo shots, IMHO. The other feed we followed was Ryan & Peter’s old blog, Engadget. Their feed updated fairly regularly, though not with autorefresh. The other coverage we were following was MacRumors, which got hacked in the first 15 minutes and the feeds were full of bizarre things, including a claim that Jobs died (not funny) as well as some truly hilarious stuff which had me rolling on the floor. There was a column of ‘desu desu desu“, for example among other things. Some folks felt sorry for MacRumors, but I don’t particularly. Although they do have original content, on slow news days they simply parrot what AppleInsider publishes - often with identical headlines. I’m not saying they deserve the hacking, but it was comical. I don’t know what happened to other feeds.

Second, most folks were expecting actual Mac hardware products, not software, so I think overall people were disappointed. From what I can tell Wall Street was also disappointed as Apple stock went down a buck fifty. Given the real need for an updated MacMini, it’s surprising Apple didn’t do something more. Even the Engadget folks were quipping about how bored they were getting after an hour of iLife / iWork demos.

The only hardware introduced was the new ‘unibody’ 17“ MacBook Pro. Price is the same, but new aluminum enclosure, and option for matte screen (vs. glossy), non-removable battery, higher res screen. Given that this MacBook is not a huge seller, and has features better suited for a desktop - meh. It weighs in at a hefty 6.6 lbs, a decrease in 0.2 lbs. This isn’t as much as I would have expected from this new lightweight enclosure. However the 15” MacBook Pro ‘unibody’ actually gained weight, a tenth of a pound to 5.5 lbs. I can’t understand why Apple needs to make heavy notebook computers when they are already horribly behind on this feature. (Note: the unibody MacBook actually lost weight from its predecessor.) I’m guessing for the new 17“ MBP, most of the weight is in the new battery. Some Mac sites seem to be touting the new tech in this battery. The new tech, however, seems to be that the battery is actually larger than in previous 17” MBPs. Larger battery, longer battery life is what Schiller said. He left out “heavier”. I also found it laughable that Apple was proud its new aircraft carrier deck laptop was the thinnest in its class. Dude, if you are lugging one of these around, its thinness is the least of your worries. And with the extra graphics processor, your gonna need all the power you can get. My guess is that the Japanese market remains unimpressed by stats like this.

Most of the presentation was focused on Apple’s consumer software, iWork and iLife. This puzzled me because I’d always heard we shouldn’t expect Apple hardware announced at the developer conferences. Now we have a software (and not much hardware) focus at MacWorld. I guess this really shows Apple’s disdain for MW or indication that they would release stuff when they want and not when others expect it. Although the flashy features demo’d for iWork and iLife seem impressive, one word permeated my thinking: bloatware. The geotag and integration with GoogleMaps/Earth is nice, but the inflexible paradigm of organizing your photos pisses me off. I still use iLife '06 on my desktop Mac, because it allows me to organize by date in the side bar (best way to organize photos!) and it's enhance function works BETTER than that in '08  for underwater photos. I can rely on tagging  for my events, places, and people. Face recognition sounds good, but apparently isn't good enough to rely on completely.

OK, this is brief, but I finally published it! If MacJournal had allowed me to send the post from the app, I'd have had this up a month ago. Next up, my review of the EyeFi Explorer card.

MacKenchi Recommends CardRaider

For the next 4 hours you can get a discount on CardRaider on MacZot - discounted to $11.95 from $19.95. If you use digital cameras, this is a great tool for recovering media you accidentally deleted - or got corrupted.

I used it last weekend to recover a movie file accidentally deleted from a card in one of our point and shoot cameras. I tried several other recover apps (including Disk Warrior II) - only CardRaider found the file. Some of the other dedicated camera card recovery apps didn’t even recognize .avi files or other movie formats.

If you use Macs and digicams, I recommend you take advantage of this price while you can. Otherwise, you might be paying the full price later on, when you really need this app to save your bacon.

More App Store BS

Look's like Apple has made the situation worse - removing the 'all apps' listings. So none of the lists are unfiltered (except for top apps?). This means you have to waste more time searching for apps and there is no way to get unbiased, listings unaffected by promotions.

I sent this feedback to Apple and hope that others will similarly do so:

I'm offended that Apple does not represent apps in the app store appropriately, and has removed the best option for finding an unfiltered listing of recent apps. I could care less about the iTunes store recommendations for apps. Don't need it, won't look at them. 

Every category (except top paid/free apps) is filtered through some kind of promoted or featured system which doesn't reflect what is actually available. Even the "New" listing does not reflect all the new apps - just what the iTunes store recommends. Worse, the best option for finding unfiltered content (all apps for iPhone or iPod Touch) has been REMOVED. What's up with that? 

This is totally bogus and offensive to consumers. Let us make the judgement of what we want, not your advertisers or app developers or staff. And I'd have to say it's a non-Apple way of doing things - or at least was. 

Fix this, like yesterday or expect more pissed off customers.

App Store Listings Unethical

Nope, I'm not talking about developers adding special characters or numbers to their app names to get attention, I'm PO'd about Apple engaging in false presentation of apps.

A "Featured" list would be fine to display apps whose developers pay advertising revenue to Apple. I would think the apps in the banners at the top of the AppStore or in that band below "New" listings would fit that bill.

Unfortunately, Apple seems to be deliberately making all their lists on the splash page "featured" lists, making it difficult for consumers to find and choose apps. This is misleading, and unfair.

For example, I browsed the app store on launch day, and want to check to see if any new apps have been released (updates I don't need - get them automatically). You would think that the place to look is at the top of the apps store under the new heading. Unfortunately, if you click to display 'new' you get a very abbreviated list of apps, many of them not new at all. Furthermore that list comes presorted with 'featured'. If you sort by 'release date', you get reverse chronological order, but again it is missing many, many apps. For example, there are no apps listed for 17 July there. See this screen shot:

If you go to the pane on the left of the app store, and select "All iPhone (or iPod Touch) Applications", and then sort by "release date" you get a very different list that isn't included under the "New" heading. Yup, several released on 17 July. Sure, some of these are updates, but not all of them. Apple isn't doing us any favors by misleading us, and is wasting my time in particular.

Another example is from the "Games" listing in the left sidebar. If you click that, you get a page with frames for different categories of games, such as Action/Adventure, Casino/Card, Family/Kids, Racing/Arcade... I was trying to find a Solitaire game that I was playing as a web app - Cookie Bonus Solitaire. I clicked on the "See all" link for Casino/Card Games and I get this very small list of games:

There, that's it. Just eight games! And no Cookie Bonus Solitaire. I could find CBS by searching for its name in the PowerSearch. And if I search for "solitaire" alone, I get TWENTY TWO apps (including a few MahJong type games).

WTF is going on, Apple? Are you deliberately misleading customers to make certain developer's products fail? Or are you truly this selfish that you cannot do what's best for the consumer? Very, very disappointing, unethical, immoral, and plain stupid.

Please fix this yesterday.

Top Ten Reasons I won't be getting an iPhone (in Japan)

10. SoftBank will run out of them quickly.

9. Some SoftBank dealers are racist and charge gaijin extra money and/or won't sell to them if they can't show a long-term Japanese visa.

8. I wouldn't be able to activate one right now anyway.

7. SoftBank's signal coverage is worse than AU, my current carrier.

6. The iPhone isn't waterproof, like my Casio G'Zone

5. My wife won't switch to SoftBank, so texting will be a bitch, and cost more.

4. Even ¥7300 yen per month is too much! My wife and I have two phones for ¥5000-6300 per month (total) with AU. Beat that, SoftBank.

3. Another "Made in China" product.

2. I rarely use the phone anyway, and I already have an iPod Touch.

And the number one reason is:

1. Frankly, I spend too much time on the internet already. I don't need more access to online content.

Wussy Nation #1

Note: Often foreigners living in Japan encounter things they can't understand or rationalize. These may both amuse and infuriate us at the same time. Posts under this heading in MacKenchi will describe such experiences.

Yesterday, while riding on the JR Yokohama line to Hashimoto, a ko-gal (high school girl) sitting on the other side of the train from me tried to get the attention of another young woman sitting one person down from me. Although the train had few riders, this in itself was unusual for Tokyo, as strangers rarely talk, interact, or even look at each other.

The kogal was trying to tell the other woman that there was a butterfly sitting on her shirt. When the woman realized what the deal was, she tried to shoo the insect away - but the butterfly was having none of it, and kept its grasp. The butterfly woman started to cringe and panic, so I stood up and motioned her to be still. I carefully grabbed the insect by its wings (it was clearly tired and trying to rest) and released it as the doors opened for a stop. It was just a small cabbage butterfly - utterly harmless and probably close to dying.

Well, I returned to my seat, nodding my head to the woman as she thanked me - assuming the ordeal was over. For whatever reason, the door stayed open as we stopped for perhaps a minute. The poor butterfly lazily fluttered around outside the train for a bit, then surprisingly flew back inside. I watched as the two women looked on horrifyingly at the butterfly desperately trying to find something to land on that was solid and unmoving. It finally settled on the raised underside of a man's shoe sitting between me and the first butterfly victim. He was asleep, so I thought that was the end of it. He was thin, in his early 20s, dressed in an inexpensive suit and shoes with elevated heels. So the butterfly had space under the arch of the shoe. 

Then both women started talking to the guy and he eventually woke up - a bit confused. When he saw what they were pointing to, he groggily tried to shake the poor insect off with increasing vigorousness. Then he started to panic a bit and looked worried as the train left the station, while he struggled to get the butterfly to release its grip. At this point, I had had enough. I couldn't watch this pussiness any further. I shook my head and walked to stand next to a door further down; my stop was coming up anyway.

The dude kept shaking his foot to the horrified commentary of the two women until finally the train conductor came out of his compartment (we were on the last car of the train) and plucked the poor butterfly off the shoe with his gloved hand. I think he released it out the window, but I was too disgusted to watch anymore.

I mean, GEEZUS, what the F is wrong with this young man? I guess I could understand if he was a little girl with insect phobia (like my wife) - but this was a guy, you know a dude or male of the human species. I guess he didn't inherit any balls from his father. A REAL man would have just picked it off with his bare hands and let it go out the window - or even smack it against the seat frame and kill it. And it's not like it was something icky like a cockroach or dangerous. This guy chose to show what a complete helpless ninny he was.

Pathetic. 

I'd like to think this is an isolated instance of spinelessness, but my experiences here suggest otherwise. 

Sometime I'll tell you how a little moth fluttering around a dining room in Okinawa turned 5 Japanese science graduate students and their professor into a pack of screaming idiots.

WWDC SteveNote Redux

OK, it's been a week since we got to hear about new Apple goodies from Pastor Steve. I'll give my analysis, FWIW.

First, this was a gawd awful boring presentation for the first 75%. Nobody wanted to hear about all the new iPhone partner yadda yadda. Kudos to Engadget for not trying to candy-coat everyone's displeasure during their live coverage.

Second, iPhone/iTouch games. Yeah it's nice that we get some games on the iPhone/iTouch. But frankly the games announced don't give me a woody and it's like 9 months too late. I would bet most touch users would be thrilled with a version of solitaire or minesweeper - or crossword puzzles - something simple and addictive. Unfortunately, the games being touted (e.g., Cro-Mag Rally, Enigmo) aren't high on my list and the fact that they might take advantage of some special iPhone/iTouch features isn't that impressive to me. As I said, the games are late in coming. We should be past this point already. Developers had to drag Apple kicking and screaming to release an SDK, and now we are paying for Apple's sonambulism.

Third, other iPhone apps. Most of the apps being touted are also not very thrilling. I mean - eBay? Who would track this stuff on their iPhone/iTouch? TypePad? Hello? Has anyone actually typed a sentence on their iPhone/iTouch and felt it was a quick and easy experience? Not happening.

How about Loopt - a social service that lets you track your friends and be tracked? I just can't see anyone other than a 16 year old teeny bopper really finding this a useful, fun app. Maybe it's just me, but I DON'T WANT my friends to know where I am 99% of the time.

MLB.com's video baseball highlight app - what?! How about actual LIVE video coverage? You can't be serious that anyone would get off on watching a highlight pseudo-real-time or otherwise, given that there are often only 2 or 3 highlights per ball game. (And yes, I love baseball.)

Even the AP app sounds lame - turn everyone into an amateur video reporter. Yuck! You'll get Sally's intimate video of her gross friend Zoey hawking a loogy on an expensive sports car parked at the 7-11. **sigh**

Fourth, OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard... no PowerPC support, no new features for users... **yawn**

Fifth, iPhone OS2.0 comes in July. Yay. Free for iPhone, but gonna cost iTouch users $9 - WTF! They should give this to touch users for FREE for having to put up with substandard features and lack of functions from the iPhone that they had to pay for already.

Sixth, Mobile Me replaces .Mac.... hurray?? Kudos for doing something to improve .Mac but the Me name is limp, and the logo is even worse. Given that I can't even get some basic .Mac features to even work, such as Back to My Mac - I'm skeptical Apple can do it right the second time around. Push mail thing might be OK, but with only 20GB of on-line storage I can't see it as a real home base for all your files. Having the functions in the basic form of web apps that act just like your desktop apps - hmmm. Do we really need this? Unsure at this point. Do you think that Windoze users will actually sign up for this? Nope - not happening.

And finally - the iPhone 3G! The phone Apple should have released in the first place comes July 11th in like 22 countries simultaneously, then many, many others. And yes, it's even coming to Japan on that date! Unfortunately, you could hear the collective groans of all of us in Japan when it was confirmed that SoftBank would be the sole carrier here. My colleague's spouse was so upset he declared he was actually angry that Apple didn't partner with a more reliable or established carrier. My guess is that Docomo wouldn't kowtow to Apple's model or demands and that SoftBank, the most desperate to improve their market share was more flexible. I guess nobody bothered to tell Apple that SoftBank is like the third owner of the company in 6 years, and that their infrastructure is still behind AU and Docomo.

Jobs claimed that the iPhone 3G price will be capped at $199 for 8Gb and $299 for 16Gb with a 2 year contract. But it's not clear if this is US-only, and I'd bet that in Japan it will sell for ¥30,000-50,000 if SoftBank has its way. And you can be sure that we will get gouged heavily for 'packet charges' for using internet features over the 3G network. The SoftBank people I spoke with had no idea on costs or anything else. I'm wondering if this is still under negotiation. It's also unclear whether a Japan iPhone will work transparently in other countries with iPhone service with roaming charges. This would be key for me, as would the possibility of changing contracts if I move to another country.

Functionality and features of the iPhone 3G are fairly impressive, if Apple's numbers are accurate - particularly for battery life. The 2 megapixel camera is not thrilling, but GPS sounds sweet (though I bet it won't work in English here). There is some concern over whether the iPhone will succeed in Japan, given its consumer's idiosyncracies and the better overall choice of phones and feature sets here compared to the US. One-Seg TV tuners are somewhat popular right now, but perhaps the better content available on the iPhone via iTunes or personal library will win folks over.

The burning question for me is will I purchase one? I'm not really moved to do so, but will definitely see what pricing plans are available. My guess is that most of us here in Japan feel the same way.

Nifty Little Mac Apps

So much for my MBA review... maybe I'll have time on my upcoming break. 

Recently, I'm impressed with the spate of small, useful apps out there for the Mac. I'll share a few of my favorites, and some new ones for you to try.

Twitter is an interesting webapp, which I've begrudgingly started to use. Unfortunately, it's no fun powering up the browser or opening up an new browser window to access your account. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can use the web app Hahlo from Dean J. Robinson.

There are some Mac Twitter clients that have been out there for a while, such as Twitterrific ($15) and TwitterPod (free). I encountered two new clients while browsing new apps at iUseThis that look very promising. The first is twhirl, a small client that uses Adobe Air tech. This app is currently in v. 0.8.1, so it is still being developed. It's free, cross platform, and I really dig the setting to adjust the opacity of the window when the app isn't active. The color of the twhirl window is not so great for some, however.

The other new client is NatsuLion, which means "Summer Lion" and is from "akira" - a Japanese developer. NatsuLion windows look more like an OSX app, and you can change the color of the text/background. I didn't install NatsuLion, but apparently some people think it's quite good.

Screen capturing seems to be the rage, and even TUAW bothered to review several screen capture apps recently. When reading that review, I was bothered that they didn't include ScreenSteps, which uses screenshots to help you build step by step instructions. But one surprise I saw was the app Skitch, which previously looked like eye candy nonsense when I first encountered it. Skitch allows users to take screenshots or webcam shots, and immediately upload them to an online storage site. From there you can share these via easy to copy urls, so you can upload them into blogs, flicker, etc. You can even determine the level of sharing for each image (private, secret, public). You can take timed shots, and the crosshairs that Skitch uses to select what you want to shoot are balls. Skitch has some very catchy annotation tools (text, arrow, shapes), and is fairly simple to use. I like the convenient menu bar access to pop up the Skitch window. Image resizing isn't clear to me, nor how to dump the current contents without losing them. My original dislike for this app is the color scheme of the logo - too pink, and too gay. However, with this functionality, I can over look it. Skitch is free for now (in beta stage) and you need to sign up an account with them.

A similar app to Skitch that wasn't in the TUAW review is GrabUp. GrabUp installs as a pref panel and remains active in your menubar. GrabUp intercepts the usual OSX screen grab command (shift+apple+4) and sends the output to an online database. You can access the location of your image via the GrabUp menubar icon, or you can just do a paste command (GrabUp automatically puts the image url into your clipboard). This is very handy for quick and dirty screen caps when writing blogs or uploading images on screen to some photo site. Interestingly, you don't sign up with any particular account to use GrabUp, so I'm guessing that there is a common online database that stores these images. So, it seems you won't be able to access your GrabUp images from another computer via the app, and I have to wonder how long they will store your images on line. GrabUp is a compromise compared to Skitch, because it allows very, very quick screen grabs, but you sacrifice global access to your images. Grab up is FREE, though, and Skitch will move to paid status eventually. Hmm...

The third app I want to talk about is another one in beta, Evernote. Evernote is a 'by invitation only' beta (I have 20 invitations left if anyone wants them). Actually, you can download the app for free, but the internet account requires an invitation. Evernote is crossplatform (Win/Mac) and I would describe Evernote as a hybrid notebook and image collector. You can use iSight to photograph something, or just drag and drop images, clip a screenshot, clip a screenshot of a webpage. Evernote will upload those with any text you add to the image to your online Evernote account. It keeps each entry you upload, and allows easy syncing between multiple machines. Apparently, any uploaded image will be scanned for text and the OCR will make those terms searchable in your entry. I tried it with the TUAW article mentioned above, and it worked great. I could search for any word and it would be highlighted. You can also tag each entry, and use several notebooks. I was a bit bothered I could not shrink the size of images in the Evernote notebook window. This seems to limit its use for note taking if the captured images overwhelm the text. Syncing between two different machines seems to work perfectly, and I have to say that this app has a lot of possibilities. You can also upload (and view) content from your mobile phone - making this a very useful service, even when you aren't at your computer.

Well, give these apps a try, and see what you think. Each of them is very nice, and will undoubtedly be improved in the near future.

Hiatus, MWSF, and MBA

Wow! ひさしぶりです！ It's been a LONG time since MWSF and I've not posted jack. 

I just want to quickly run down what I thought of the new Apple stuff at MWSF (OK, it was almost 3 months ago), and why I bought an MBA right away.

- AppleTV Redux: Apple was desperate to boost its flagging sales and give some functionality that users actually need or want. The new software is supposedly a major improvement. For me, I'm not that thrilled. I just am not sure I need a way to move my Mac content to my TV. But then again, we don't have a very large set or watch much more than news, sports, kids shows, and the occasional Japanese drama.

- Time Capsule: As a hard drive, it's rather expensive. But you could justify the extra cost because it serves as a full fledged WiFi-n base station. There is a USB port for printer or another hard drive, as well as 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports. The problem I see is that if you purchase Time Capsule, it's an all in one solution. You are stuck with this hard drive, no matter what. Furthermore, Apple is billing this as the only wireless Time Machine solution. 

Although a recent Airport firmware update finally enabled the ability to use hard drives plugged into your base station with Time Machine - Apple is stating that this feature is unsupported. Perhaps they are doing this to boost Time Capsule sales, which may not be doing very well. I notice on the Apple Store's Time Capsule page, several very poor ratings. This doesn't bode well.

- Google Maps, Mail, and more for iPod Touch: This should have been free. I paid for it, because I needed the Mail app alot, and didn't want to hack my Touch. Shame on Apple for not providing this for free, regardless of the accounting BS allowing them to do so.

- MacBook Air: I saved the best for last. F-f-f-f-finally! Apple makes a lightweight laptop! I will still maintain that they didn't need to add all the bells and whistles to make a lightweight MacBook. However, when comparing it to lightweight Wintel laptops, some that came out in response to the Air, it comes out ahead on the best balance of features. And given many of us don't need a speed demon to take our show on the road, the MBA really suits the bill. I ordered mine the night they were announced, and received it in the second week of February. In my next post, I'll give a comprehensive review of the MBA, complete with unboxing photos.

OK, there were a few other things at MWSF too - like vid rentals. And I'd have to say my prognosticating was pretty good this time around, if you check out my previous post.

SteveNote Game

This is pretty cool.

Jan-07 MacWorld Predictions

I think:

Small MacBook - at a hefty 5+lbs, the current MacBooks are not really portable. Whether Apple overdoes it with a functionally crippled ultralight MacBook or just a thinner, small screen version of the current line - I'm not sure.

Regardless, either would be a welcome move by MacKenchi's standards. (Less than this is not acceptable for us folks in Japan!)

Speed Bump MacBooks - could be the whole current line up, and maybe upgrade the screens of the 17" Pro to backlit.

Monitor Refresh - new versions of the current crop with built in iSight and more ports (USB/FW).

16GB GSM iPhone - no 3G yet.

MacTV 2.0 - BluRay whatever.... Yawn

iPhone/Touch SDK Kit - Announced, but not shipping until at least Feb.

iPhone/Touch firmware 1.1.3 - Watch out modders!

iPhone/Touch Games - Way late, but hey.

iTunes ≥v.7.6 - Vid rental, whatever.

OSX 10.5.2 - Make things like Back to your Mac and Spaces actually useful.

Mac Mini - no change in configuration, but decreased price.

Some of the product upgrades won't be announced at the Keynote, but be discovered as new products on the Apple Store - like before.

FWIW...

New Hip in Japan

Since my return to Japan on Nov 15th, it was clear that my life was going to be different, and improved.

- My daughter was more active and mobile, pushing me to push myself to keep up with her.

- I was relatively pain free (hip-wise) in my daily activities, and felt more motivated to get out and do something.

- The crutches were quickly becoming an afterthought. In fact, I gave them up at home after a week altogether, used a cane for about two weeks and since Xmas have been cane-less.

- I wasn't struggling to stand up from couch, chair, or even the floor.

- I was gaining muscle mass (and unfortunately flab), because of increased swimming and stationary biking (and unfortunately appetite).

The biggest early drawback was trying to limit myself from doing something too much too soon.

- My daughter is right on the borderline of what your are supposed to lift (20lbs).

- I found myself at times nearly running to catch trains (I should wait until April for that).

- Carrying a backpack with laptop was harder on my back than my hip.

Unfortunately, I became quite ill for 8 days from 28 November through 6 December. I had some sort of GI virus (not a flu virus) that literally kept me in bed or on the toilet for 6 straight days. The Japanese GI specialist I saw felt that my recent operation may have left my immune system a bit weaker. I ended up taking antibiotics, and some 'good bacteria' powder (biofirm) like the stuff they put in yogurt to help your gut recolonize the beneficial E. coli. I've come to realize that antibiotics (whose frequent use I oppose) may be a reality in my future because of my implant. I have to get antibiotics whenever I get dental work done or other invasive medical work.

The upshot of my stomach 'cold', as the doctor put it, was that it set my recovery back a week or more - as I couldn't do my stretching exercises, swim or bike. And I think I regressed a bit in flexibility. Worse, I had just located an American PT specialist on base, and the illness postponed my PT plans into the holidays - when I wasn't able to sign up. At this writing I still haven't set up a PT session and will have to get a new prescription to do so. My job and lab responsibilities have also increased, giving me less available free time, other than for exercises.

At present, I feel I'm close to being where I should be - my leg strength improves daily - but I'm still frustrated by my flexibility. Worse, I'm starting to feel stiffness and some soreness after sitting for long periods in a variety of chairs - finding that I limp more than I thought I did previously. I'm unsure if this is a result of poor posture, bad furniture, or just the recovery of feeling in my operated hip. It makes me want to sit less, but it also makes me question my progress and lack of initiative on signing up for PT.

So, I still have no regrets for having my hip replaced - the pain relief alone is amazing. I'm only disappointed a bit in my perceived lack of progress in rehab. Yet, I still had a mobile holiday that I could only have dreamed of a year ago.

Ganbaremasu!

N-Y-C-U Later

Sadly, I've not posted here for the last month - but that's because I've been busy and distracted. I'll catch you up.

NWA - Service? No way!

I returned to NYC on 13 November, checked into my hotel, and took a cab to HSS for my appointment with Dr. Su. The NWA flight was OK - better getting folks off and on. But the flight attendant refused to help me with my bag (lifting or finding a place for it). This really pissed me off, especially when she told me I should have checked it in. Yeah - right - check in my laptop. What happened to airline service?? NWA should be ashamed of their lack of service for disabled people.

I was fortunate to have 2 good cabbies both from Laguardia airport and my hotel. And my hotel had a surprise in the form of a first floor room, actually cheaper than the one I originally reserved, so I could crutch around more easily.

Last dance with the Doc

I was able to get to HSS around 10am - quite a bit earlier than I expected. The cabbie that took me there even knew the hospital from the address. (That, my friends, is a rarity in NYC.) My doctor's office was not expecting me until later, but I was able to get in anyway. Unfortunately, Dr. Su was not available so I was checked by his PA, Blair, a nice woman that was around for all my previous visits. Blair found no complications and was satisfied with my recovery. I was using only one crutch the whole time, and even showed her I could ambulate easily with no crutch. She showed me a new series of exercises/stretches for 1month+ postop folks. I was a bit disappointed that they were quite difficult - much harder than the ones I was doing for PT. One involves lifting both knees to your chest, and lowering the operated leg flat for a stretch. Another has you sitting, and slowly lifting/pulling your operated leg up and across your good leg with the eventual goal being able to sit cross-legged.

The other thing I learned was how to inject myself with Lovenox. Dr. Su gave me a prescription for this earlier, but I didn't need to fill it until I had a long flight. Lovenox is another blood thinner, and I picked up the self injectors from the pharmacy before I came to the office on this visit. I was unsure how to inject these (but not squeamish), and surprisingly the pharmacist didn't give detailed instructions. Blair had a nurse in the office pool show me the procedure - which involves pinching a fold of your belly skin and injecting subcutaneously. I have a nice layer of insulation, so no problem. The only other issue was the timing of injecting. The prescription said before the flight, but it was unlikely that I could take them past the security check. So, we concluded I should inject one late at night and the other before I left the hotel.

For parting gifts, I got a plastic card with an explanation (and illustration) of my implant, plus a PT prescription. I've been told the card won't really help at airports with security, but it's definitely a conversation piece so far at parties.

Walking Too Much

After goodbyes, I decided to treat myself to some good java at a coffee shop near HSS (forgot the name) that I enjoyed previously. Although I was a bit reluctant not to leave without seeing Dr. Su, I was getting very antsy and decided I would enjoy the rest of my day the best I could. After coffee, I started walking south, hoping to catch some Manhattan sites and maybe an electronics store in a couple blocks before taking a cab to the hotel. Well, I couldn't find what I wanted and ended up walking forever - like 15 blocks. One of the hardest things for me at that time was realizing that I had limits, and that I shouldn't push it. At one point, even walking on one crutch was decidedly painful on my left arm and other parts of my body were also sore. I also felt a bit cold. So, I found a place to eat where I could sit down relatively undisturbed (another rarity in NYC) and after an excellent deli meal I was invigorated. I found that I was actually close to the Apple store, and walked a couple more blocks - then treated myself to a case for my iPod Touch. I caught a cab back to the hotel, where I promptly fell asleep for 2.5 hours.

Although my Manhattan hike was overly ambitious, around 5pm I went out and walked again several blocks. I was starving for dinner, and worried about getting gifts for folks back home (a Japanese tradition that adds another headache for travelers). I found a great video game store, where I was able to pick up a new Wii game for a friend of mine, then after walking way too far, settled on getting organic chocolates from a Whole Foods market near NYU. I also bought my dinner there - way too much food. I was struck by how difficult it was to navigate around the store with one crutch on a crowded evening. It was really annoying, frustrating, and embarrassing. Yes, I had had enough of NYC. And I slept really well that night with the thought that I would be leaving soon.

Manhattan Transfer

I used a private car service (Dial 7) to get to JFK airport the next day. I highly recommend it to anyone that is leery of using cabs or has mobility issues. You have to make a reservation in advance (a day or more is best), and they actually call you when they arrive. And they arrive on time, and get you there on time. Injecting myself was no big deal, just a bit uncomfortable. Even if I didn't get all of the second injection in, I knew it would be OK. The Lovenox was a precaution, and given that I was mobile enough, the risk of blood clots was pretty low. I only wondered what the hotel cleaning folks thought when they saw the empty syringes in the wastebasket.

At JFK, I used curb-side check-in again. I was a bit upset there wasn't a wheel chair ready for me, but I was early enough that it wasn't a big deal. Doing the security check from a wheel chair really saved a lot of wear and tear on my hip (and crutch arms), plus gets you through quickly. Although my mother capriciously used this to avoid getting lost in airports (she is still quite ambulatory), if you are on crutches from something like hip replacement - take advantage of it. The wheel-chair attendant was great: very helpful and quick. The security check was more involved than that at Laguardia or Detroit airports, but the security folks did their jobs well, and relatively efficiently. My implant didn't seem to set any detectors off that I could tell, but I wasn't asked to walk through the detector - just patted down.

Getting on the plane was easy, and the staff kindly switched me to an open window seat row with lots of foot room. The American Airlines crew was mostly American, but they were very helpful - offering to get my crutches whenever I needed them, because they couldn't be stored near my seat. Like the way over, this was a 12-13 hour non-stop flight, and despite having 3 seats I was never really comfortable and couldn't sleep well. The inflight movie selections were impressive and repeated (several movies, several channels), but I still felt restless. My hobby was going to the bathroom, which I seemed to have to do a lot. Despite the empty seats in our plane, there was rarely a time I could get an open bathroom when I needed it. Plus, other passengers weren't thrilled to see my crutch. Aisle space was quite narrow, and although I tried to be careful - I put the crutch on someone's foot a couple times. Oh well.

Arrival in Japan was great, as the airline folks really went out of their way to help me get out of the plane quickly, to an express desk for immigration (actually the office itself) and customs. One guy did it all, even pulling my bags along. And I didn't even have to tip him - it's not a custom in Japan. :-)

But the best part of arrival at Narita airport was the reunion with my nearly 1 year-old daughter. I hadn't seen her for a month and was afraid she had forgotten me. It was a little awkward at first, and she was afraid of me. But she warmed up in a few hours. And I was very thankful that I could actually make it back for her first birthday.

Midwestern Crawl

More Progress
I had a quick check up at Dr. Su's office on 1 November - nearly 2 weeks postop. The Xray was good, I was told to walk with one crutch while indoors. I used one crutch for the first time right there in the examination room. I was surprised how easy it was. The doc also cleared me to fly out to Detroit for 7 days minimum, and even indicated I could fly back to Japan after that.
I did my last PT at the Joint Mobility Center the next morning before I left for Detroit, and really surprised my therapist with my progress. She didn't see me the day prior, and didn't think I was able to walk on one crutch. My session was a bit rushed, because of the flight time in the afternoon - but everything went well. I got a big smile and a Tshirt from the staff.

Escape from NY
I flew out of Laguardia airport, and had wheel chair service get me to the plane. This was a good idea, as I got through security more quickly and didn't have to stand for long periods in line. I wasn't able to walk through the detector at all with out a crutch, so they frisked me. The TCA guard that did the frisking was very nice, and not pushy at all. I don't think the scanner picked up my implant - but it wasn't a big deal. The worst part was after they delivered me to the gate - no help after that - mostly because I was there an hour in advance. The flight was delayed an hour, and when they let handicaps and 1st class people in - I couldn't get to the front of the line. The gate attendant told me I should have shoved people out of the way. This wasn't really easy with two crutches under one arm and pulling my wheelie carryon with the other.

This was a NWA flight on a 757. They helped me get to my seat, but there wasn't any real space in front of it. When I explained I was supposed to get a bulkhead seat - they claimed this was it. It was a row behind first class and seemed to have a bit more legroom. The worst part of boarding the plane was it took 45 minutes to complete it! This was made worse by the attendants making people stow their carryons in places other than above their seats. In Japan, a plane this size gets boarded in 15 minutes or so. Maybe NYers are slow, but I have a feeling it was the attendents' fault. Unbelievable.

At Detroit airport, the wheelchair service was great, but they had one guy take two of us at the same time. We had to use several elevators, and a train (12 minutes or so) to get to baggage claim. I was surprised that there were no tag checkers of bags in Detroit - but I got my bags. My mother, uncle and aunt were there to meet me - so it was easy after that. Perhaps the strangest thing at that point was traveling in a passenger car not driven by a cabbie.

Slow Life with Benefits
I stayed with my sister in Temperance, Michigan since then with a couple of trips to my home town in NW Ohio, and my brother's place in Cleveland. Both drives were 1-2 hours, but I had no problems. The embolism socks were used, but I feel they aren't necessary. My sister got hold of a stationary bike from a friend, so I was able to use that as part of my PT. It was a normal crank size, and I had no pain at all! Again, a marked point of progress. I've been doing 10-15 minutes biking each day and all my PT stretches using the bench on my sister's wooden deck. This was pretty good, and the weather usually was unseasonably warm. Over the course of the last 10 days, my bridging and all leg lifts have become extraordinarily easy. I even found I could lift my operated leg while lying on my back - and can now raise it 30° up to 11 times in sequence. I could barely lift it at all in NY. I also found that I was rolling over on both sides in the bed with little or no pain, and even slept on my operated side without realizing it. The most stunning change was standing up and walking without the crutch. This began maybe 4 days ago, and I don't do it on purpose. I usually catch myself and get the crutch right away. There isn't any pain at all, so I'm very pleased. I'll be a good boy and use the crutch for the whole 6 weeks post op, like the doctor says.

My right hip seems to be improving visually as well. The bruising is gone, and the incision is fairly clean. I measured it the other day and it seems to be about 8 inches long. This doesn't bother me a bit, though others might not like it. I can feel some of the stitching - they feel like 1 pound test monofilament fishing line. Although they are supposed to disintegrate and dissolve - it seems they are still there. I caught one knotted end on my pants and it yanked out. Ouch! It also itches at times - but it could be worse I suppose.

The only thing I really wish I could change is the diet here. It's too meaty and all available drinks (except water) are sweetened. I bet I've gained a couple pounds here. I also found myself being more sedentary than I liked, except for a long trip to the shopping mall where I walked quite a bit. I thought perhaps this was related to the vicodan - making me drowsy or lazy. However, this isn't likely; I stopped taking it so frequently, down to 3-4 times a day instead of 8.

Back into the Fray
I'd hoped to do a little traveling before returning to NYC, and even toyed with the idea of visiting my friend in upstate New York. But I became a bit apathetic, and also realized I could only go via a one stop flight. This, and the concern I would be imposing on others made me realize I should just stay at my sisters and return to NYC the day before I wanted to return to Japan.

Before I left NYC, I made tentative arrangements to come back to see the Doc one day before flying back to Japan. To accommodate the MD's schedule we scheduled an appointment for 13 November. My week of lethargy in Michigan pretty much made it clear to me that I needed to get back home to my family. Making the flight arrangements back to Japan was a piece of cake, and after waiting for my sister's schedule to gel - I was able to get the the first flight out of Detroit to NYC tomorrow morning. I have to say I'm a bit pensive. I'm eager to get out of here, but not real thrilled to go through another day in NYC.

Hopefully, there will be no complications in my checkup, and I'll be on my way on Wednesday. :-)

It's the little things...

All this fanfare about Apple's new Leopard OS (10.5) has not moved me one iota. I suppose with all the time on my hands I could wrestle with installation on my ancient G4 PB, but I'd rather spend my time writing about other stuff.

Signs of Progress
My last couple of day have been interesting, as I find myself doing things (or trying to do them) that I haven't been able to. I sat up in bed two days ago, without realizing it was the first time without help. I stand on my two feet without a crutch or pushing up with my arms. I turn over on one side in bed, sometimes stopped by pain. I bend over to scratch my lower legs. I've even caught myself trying to take steps without crutches. Although I'm unconsciously pushing my limits, I sort of know I'm not there yet. I've found myself trying things first, then later asking my mother for help if I've failed. But putting on shoes is completely beyond me at this point.

On my own two feet
My reliance upon my mother for things hasn't bothered me much, and she's been good about letting me give things a go first before helping out. We took a nice walk out to the East river yesterday, and I was surprised at my endurance. I took a short video for my daughter, and was pleasantly surprised that I look pretty good.

Unfortunately, I won't have the luxury of her further presence here in NYC. I'm on my own! My grandfather passed away this morning, and mom had to fly back to Ohio to take care of my grandmother and other matters. He was very old, bed-ridden, and not very lucid. But he's in a nursing home and the impression was that he was stable. So my mother felt it would be OK to be here with me, despite complaints from my grandmother that her own needs were ignored. Now I know my mom is dealing with unwarranted guilt issues.

So, I'll continue here in NYC and hope I'm can progress to the point where I can be cleared to leave and attend a funeral. I'm not so close to my grandparents, so the death isn't affecting me as much. I need to focus on my recovery at this point, and if they need me I'll see if I can fly out.

I decided to show myself I can survive, so I somehow got my socks on (woohoo!) and slipped into my open back sandals to get some fresh air. I lumbered about 3 blocks to a deli, got some fruit salad and broccoli chicken, and returned to the Belaire. Folks were very nice about opening doors for me, and I didn't have any major problems. This was a big confidence builder.

OK, leftovers tonight, and PT tomorrow. One step at a time.

Post Op Shop II

Since my last post, things have progressed quite a bit. I remained in the hospital room until yesterday (24 October) noon. This was one day longer than I expected, but mostly due to tiredness.

Crutchety Old Man
On 23 October, the PT person got me out of bed and on crutches for the first time. Crutch use isn't as difficult as you might think, but it takes lots of arm strength - more than I expected. Crutch use mimics the walker - move both crutches forward, then bad leg, and good leg. Though tough at first, I was able to go all the way down the hall to the PT room (~20 meters). Once there, I rested a bit and was then tempted with a short set of stairs (5 steps). I decided to give it a go and was able to go up and down with effort. Up with the good leg, down with the bad leg - that's the mantra for doing stairs. You use only one crutch, and one rail - lots of arm strength again. After stairs, I crutched back down the hall to my room.

Holy Crap
I was able to repeat the crutch feat later in the afternoon - around 2:40pm. But before that I had an ordeal the likes I had never expected when I had to have my first bowel movement. Often after surgery, you are dehydrated and the cocktail of drugs they give you leaves you constipated. When mother nature paid a visit to me, I had to wait 15 minutes before a nurse could help me to the commode. Then when I got there, the urge to go was great - but so was the pain. I had to make a lot of effort, then was scolded by the floor nurse in the middle of it. They were worried I would pass out. Well, after assuring them I would just 'let it happen', I was able to finish. The pain was excruciating, and I was exhausted. And it was embarrassing to have a nurse tech clean me up after. Aaagh! Perhaps this was worse than catheter removal.

Night to Forget
I had hoped to be discharged on the evening of the 23rd, but the constipation episode wore me out. I felt I could use the extra rest and attention. Unfortunately, the nursing staff was not particularly cooperative or quiet that night. I couldn't get pain pills when I wanted, and they bothered me when I was trying to sleep or nap on several locations. Perhaps this was a sign that they wanted me gone. :-) But more likely that they had a very busy night shift.

Discharge
There was no doubt in my mind I needed to leave when I woke up on the 24th. I was tired of asking nurses to do everything (and impatient), and weary of my surroundings (except the great river view). My mother had already checked into the Belaire (hospital's hotel) and it sounded nice. Perhaps the thing that propelled me most was what I saw in the mirror when I got to the bathroom. After 5 days I desperately needed a shave, and my skin was very red around my beard where my eczema (dermatitis) often flares up.

The PT people came around again to confirm my first outpatient appointment, and even arranged for a sales person to come by with a 'reacher' - a device that helps you grab or pick up objects beyond your range of movement. I had one more PT session at 11am to practice crutches and stairs, then signed the paperwork for discharge. I had to agree to only take the prescribed medications (vicodan and enteric aspirin), and a number of other physician mandated restrictions. Then at noon, I said goodbye to my urine bottle and room, while a nice, tall blonde Russian girl wheeled me to the Belaire.

Reality Bites
Once in our 6 floor 1 bedroom apartment, it became clear that home life was not going to be a piece of cake. This realization came crashing down on me soon after I had entered the room. Although this hotel is run by HSS for families of patients needing extended care, it seems to lack things required by disabled or recovering patients like myself. No elevated toilet seat or chairs, low sofas, and a too soft bed. I can't really complain, as this will get paid for by someone else eventually. But you would think they'd pay more attention to needs of the disabled.

I also found that things are quite different when you aren't flat on your back in a hospital bed. You have to walk to the bathroom, stand while washing, move several meters to bed, chair, couch, etc. on crutches. If you change clothes (or pull up your pants), you have to use the reacher (or get some help). Fortunately, my mother helped me with many things, including going out to get meals, cleaning clothes, pushing chairs, picking up dropped items, reaching hard to reach places, lifting my operated leg, etc. Hell, I can't even get to the phones from the couch or bed in a few seconds.

Wow. If I was alone somewhere, I'd never make it after release from the hospital. Now I understand why hospitals in Japan keep you in a rehab facility for nearly a month for full hip replacement.