How to improve iOS 4 performance on iPhone 3G
Turn off Spotlight. Go to Settings, General, Home Button, Spotlight Search and just turn it all off. iPhone 3G is so resource constrained Apple wouldn’t even enable wallpaper. Indexing Spotlight in the background seems to be the straw that breaks the performance’s back. With Spotlight off, it’s a usable device again.
via How to improve iOS 4 performance on iPhone 3G | TiPb.
Ever since upgrading my iPhone 3G to iOS4 it's run like a dog. I've found the advice above has helped a little though. Considering I never use Spotlight I've lost nothing by doing it.
Update (29/07/2010): It seems Apple are starting to pay some attention to this issue:
Interview with the “Raoul Moat You Legend” Woman
Although it’s easy to assume that the people who created the Facebook group “RIP Raoul Moat You Legend” are dumb and misguided, I thought I’d hold back judgement at least until I see why they think what they think. All to often I see what first appears to be a crazy statement only to later learn that it’s not that crazy afterall.
So after reading this Charlie Brooker article, I found the interview he mentioned that took place between Ian Collins (a TalkSport presenter) and the woman who set the Facebook group up. I’d finally get to hear why she set it up.
I’m almost disappointed to say that she really is every bit as dumb and misguided as you might think she is based on the group she created. There is no point to the group.
It does make for an interesting interview though. Worth a listen:
Oh, and to the woman in the interview: “Everyone’s entitled to an opinion” doesn’t act as an argument for your opinion.
And another “Oh”.. top marks to the presenter for the Colombo line 
Different Ways to Consume the Same Content (Flipboard and Boxee)
What is Flipboard? It turns your Facebook and Twitter account into something that looks like a magazine. It also lets you build a custom magazine, either by choosing from Flipboard’s pre-built curated “boards” or by importing Twitter lists. This is a very powerful and engaging way to read Twitter. You can also turn a single person’s Twitter account, or a single brand’s Twitter account, into a Flipboard. For instance, you can follow Techcrunch on Twitter with it and it will turn Techcrunch into a beautiful magazine-like interface that’s easier to read than any other reader.
via First look at “revolutionary” social news iPad app: Flipboard — Scobleizer.
From what little I've seen of Flipboard, and the number of rave reviews it's getting on Twitter by people I follow, it's certainly increased my desire to get an iPad.
It's surprising what a difference it can make to view the same data through different clients. For example, viewing Twitter and Facebook content through Boxee on the living room TV is very different to viewing the same posts on the desktop PC using Brizzly or twitter.com. Boxee displays only the links posted that contains video, and then displays that video in full screen (on the big screen). When sat on the sofa this is a vastly improved experience compared to sitting at a desk, no matter how big the monitor is. I'm used to watching video on the sofa, and working at the desk.
Flipboard appears to take Tweets and Facebook statuses and rather than optimise them for the living room, it optimizes them as if each link contained within a post were a magazine article.
It goes to show there is more to Twitter than just "what I had for breakfast". I wonder what other variations can be applied to Twitter and Facebook beyond the standard 'stream' view?
$Stan->age++;
Assuming I remember to publish this post on the correct day, one year ago to the day our son Stan entered the world.
I've managed to refrain from posting too much about him, but I figured now is a good time to reflect a little on fatherhood, and the result is essentially several posts that I probably should have written over the course of the year.
I must admit, I've never been a big fan of children - never one to "koo" over babies.
2 years ago, given the choice of having a kid or having money and freedom, I could have taken either. At the time I felt it certainly would be good to have a kid. I didn't know why, other than the fact most other people do it so there must be something to it. It doesn't help that those that do have kids spend their time moaning about it, only to tell you it's the best thing they've ever done... only they can't explain why.
At the same time, if we couldn't conceive then there certainly would be perks. I know people who have chosen the option not to have kids and now live a fulfilling lifestyle as a result. They see something they want and they can afford to get/do it.
Better Than Expected
First of all, good for them! I can definitely see the appeal. But all I would say is, being a parent so far has been an amazing experience. Before Stan, I simply couldn't imagine how enjoyable it would be to actually have Stan. He's made me feel feelings I never realised existed, and brought out aspects of me I didn't expect.
Like being a proud dad for instance. Of course, I kind of expected to feel like a proud dad, but not with such ease. Stan really doesn't have to do much and I'm incredibly proud to be his dad. From simple things like when he performs a party trick in front of family (eg. you tap your mouth making a noise, and he responds with the same action) to silly things. Of our friends, almost all of them have daughters and as a result, most of Stan's 'friends' are girls. They're all a bit older than him and they all play with him. In the mind of this proud Dad, he's the boss. He'll sit there in his paddling pool (read: Hot Tub) like some kind of pimp, whilst his bitches try to entertain him. It's obviously not really like that, but I still feel proud of him for being there. Believe me, pimps and bitches ain't my thing. So why on earth I'd have a strange sense of proudness for it is beyond me.
So given the ease in which proudness comes about, when I see the mums and dad's of people who have really achieved something, I can't help but feel good for them - and wonder what is going through their mind?
All the sick, poo, sleepless nights, inability to relax when they learn to crawl, concern when they're ill. All the crap. It really doesn't matter. It's so worth it.
If nothing else, it's worth it for the feeling you get when you're in work having a slightly shitty time and you remember something they did the evening before. Or the week before.
At the moment I love the fact Stan is so passionate about playing with his toys. You put him down, he instantly sets off the grab his favorite toys and plays. Such a simple thing, but it puts a grin on my face just picturing him doing it. He's happy!
Or the sound of him crawling around, hands slamming against the floor, off to find his mummy - panting away with excitement as he crawls. The thought of that makes me happy. I'm even more desperate to get home from work now-a-days.
And of course, the often referred to feeling you get when you get home from work and he's pleased to see you. Most parents will tell you about this one when asked what's great about parenthood.
You're the first person to have kids...
I remember when Becky was pregnant with Stan, my brother told me that when you have a kid, you feel like you're the first person to ever have kids.
I didn't really know what he meant by that, but recently I realised - or at least I think I did. I find myself excitedly telling people about something Stan has done, as if no other baby has done it before. I know they probably have, but it doesn't matter. To me it's massive! It's groundbreaking! He's a fucking genius!! So the poor people I talk to, have to listen to me singing Stan's praises. If they've had kids before, they're thinking "Yeah, kids do that..", and if they haven't had kids they don't really care anyway. Just like getting married, I never found other people's kids truly interesting until I had one myself.
It just gets better...
Another thing my brother said to me is that it just gets better and better. At one month you'll think to yourself "Nah, he's perfect. Don't change...", and the same at 3 months, and 6 months etc. And at the time of him telling me this, I thought "Nope. I can avoid this. A baby isn't much fun anyway. Everyone knows that a cheeky 3-year-old is far more fun than a baby that just sleeps, poos and feeds". And yet, when Stan was just sleeping, pooing and feeding, he was perfect. I really didn't want him to change. He was so innocent and cute. Who'd have thought something that does so little can be so perfect.
But as I write this - and in spite of the fact I've now learnt the lesson many times over all ready - I honestly think Stan just happens to be at that perfect age right now.
He's inquisitive, happy, playful, reactive, not cheeky, cute, loving, absorbing and all sorts of other great things.
What could top him at 1 years old?
Happy birthday Stan!
Rich Hall’s ‘The Dirty South’
Rich Hall sets his keen eye and acerbic wit on his homeland once again as he sifts truth from fiction in Hollywood's version of the southern states of the USA. Using specially shot interviews and featuring archive from classic movies such as Gone With The Wind, A Streetcar Named Desire and Deliverance, Rich discovers a South that is about so much more than just rednecks, racism and hillbillies.
via BBC - BBC Four Programmes - Rich Hall's 'The Dirty South'.
It's rare that I watch anything challenging lately. I'm usually content to sit down and veg out to either comedy, soaps (yes, soaps) or some film I've watched before. However, last night I watched Rich Hall's The Dirty South.
Now I'm not saying that it was a challenging show, but it was something I had to concentrate on and think about - that's enough for me after a day at work.
I really enjoyed it. 90 minutes well spent that not only gives me greater appreciate for America, but resulted in a couple films being added to my 'would like to watch' list.
My Beliefs
As the show was anti-Hollywood, the show itself challenged my beliefs (whether I like it or not, I tend to learn things from films - especially biopics). As enjoyable as the show was, I find it hard to watch or listen to things that do this - it's hard to swallow. I'm quite happy with my beliefs. Among other things, those beliefs have resulted in me enjoying the films Ray and Walk the Line (the Johnny Cash biopic). Why would I not want to enjoy a film? But the next time I watch those films, I don't know whether I will enjoy them or not.
Ray
Rich Hall points out that when making biopics, Hollywood attempts to associate character development with key moments in a person's life, even though it isn't true to life. As he put it, Ray Charles didn't become a heroin addict because his brother died. He became one because he kept shooting heroin into his arms.
When watching these films, in the back of my mind I kind of know this. But it's great to get caught up in the story and believe that "blimey, Ray Charles really did do it hard!". It not only helps me to enjoy the film, but also the music. So it's hard when someone challenges that.
Easy Rider
One thing I am please he did though was point out that Easy Rider just seems to be about two guys smoking pot and driving motor bikes.
Easy Rider has always come across as a bit of a "hands off! This is a classic so I don't want to hear a bad word about it". When I watched it, I kind of enjoyed it but I did end up thinking "What's the point of that?". Until now though - until Rich led the way - I'd never feel comfortable admitting it. Thanks Rich!
As I wrote earlier though - with regards to The Dirty South, 90 minutes well spent. Anything that makes you think enough to compel you to write a blog post must be worth it in my eyes.
Elevators
Passengers seem to know instinctively how to arrange themselves in an elevator. Two strangers will gravitate to the back corners, a third will stand by the door, at an isosceles remove, until a fourth comes in, at which point passengers three and four will spread toward the front corners, making room, in the center, for a fifth, and so on, like the dots on a die. With each additional passenger, the bodies shift, slotting into the open spaces. The goal, of course, is to maintain but not too conspicuously maximum distance and to counteract unwanted intimacies—a code familiar to half the population from the urinal bank and to them and all the rest from the subway.
via Our Local Correspondents: Up and Then Down : The New Yorker.
You'd never guess it, considering this lengthy piece is simply about elevators, but I found it to be a facinating read, full of interesting insights.
Tip of the hat to marco.org for bringing it to my attention.
YouTube Leanback offers effortless viewing
YouTube Leanback is all about letting you sit back, relax and be entertained. Videos tailored to your interests play as soon as you visit the site and they play in full screen and high definition, continuously. There’s no need to click, search, or browse, unless you want to, of course. Watching YouTube becomes as easy as watching TV.
via YouTube Blog: YouTube Leanback offers effortless viewing.
What a great way to view YouTube. It would be ideal if this functionality was included in Boxee. Unfortunately, the only machine where I actually view the desktop AND can technically watch videos is our desktop PC, and try as I might I can't sit there and watch a video. The other PCs in the house are hooked up to TVs running Boxee.
A glimpse of the future perhaps.
Web Apps – Stack Exchange
I find Stack Overflow and Superuser incredibly useful sites. Stack Overflow is fast becoming a resource as thorough and useful as Wikipedia and IMDB. In fact other than Wikipedia and IMDB, it's the only site I bypass Google for. Why bother searching for a programming question on Google when the answer is going to be on Stack Overflow?
The people behind Stack Overflow and Superuser recently created a system that allow people to suggest ideas for Q&A sites. People vote and eventually one gets created (well, actually its more involved than that - but you get the idea). The first of those sites is Web Apps - a Q&A site dedicated to Web Apps.
When I first heard about it I didn't think it would work. How many questions can you ask about Google Docs, Twitter and Facebook? And how tricky can they be? Having seen it though, I think I'm wrong. There appears to be some good questions there (especially concerning Wave).
I look forward to using it.
Readability – Better Than I Expected
Readability recently got some press for being included in Apple's desktop browser: Safari
As a result of this, the creator of Readability appeared on the Rebooting the News podcast.
What is Readability?
The idea of the app is it strips away all the unrequired graphics and ads of a web page and lays an article out in a consistent way.
Even whilst listening to the podcast, the concept didn't appeal to me. Graphics and ads have never really bothered me. I've never been compelled to install an Ad Blocker for instance.
Consistency is Strangely Nice
However, in spite of that I figured I'd give it a try. Dave Winer seemed to be getting excited about it, so it was worth a look.
A week later and I have to say I'm very impressed. There is something to be said for a consistent reading environment regardless of the site. And the more I think about it, the more I realise that I prefer reading articles in an RSS reader to the actual site for that very reason. And especially on an iPhone (over Windows) because there are even less distractions.
How to Install
So far I've found the following ways to use Readability. I'm sure there are other ways, but these cover my needs at least:
Glastonbury, Twitter and the Other World
For me, Glastonbury has been a good gauge of how much Twitter has grown.
I remember searching a couple years ago for Glastonbury on Twitter during the Weds and Thurs. There were probably 5-10 tweets an hour at most.
Performing a search now and there are many a second:
And Twitter and it’s like have certainly had an impact on Glastonbury too.
Gone are the days where the Q Daily could stick a rumour regarding the outside world in their daily newspaper and you couldn’t confirm or deny it without ringing someone on the outside (that’s assuming you could get a signal). A few years back the outside world was cut off world. Now-a-days Twitter, Facebook and access to the mobile web in general means that even if you’re not keeping up with the outside world with your phone, your mate probably is. There’s no escaping the news now (I can’t decide on whether this is a good thing or not..).
I remember thinking last year that when Jackson died, in previous years that news would have been considered yet another rumour that goes around the festival. However, a quick look at the mobile phone now and it’s confirmed.