Day: 26 September 2012

VSCO Cam Update ⇥ visualsupply.co

Adds support for the iPhone 5, and fixes a few nasty bugs. This is still my go-to app for post-processing on the go. You should check it out.

iCloud Backup ⇥ marco.org

Marco Arment:

The other day, my grandfather asked me if he could get rid of the who-knows-what PC for good, but he wanted to make sure that he could transfer his stuff to a new iPad in the future if this one ever broke. (Good question.) I told him to bring it to the nearby Apple Store and have them set up “ICLOUD BACKUP” for him. (He wrote that down.)

I figured that a “Genius” would quickly figure out whether it still had iOS 4, and if so, would just update it to iOS 5 or 6 and then set up iCloud backup.

But instead of doing a routine update, the Genius did a restore. And, apparently, didn’t explain what that was going to mean.

Communication of finicky technical stuff is still a challenge to those less-versed in it, but there’s no excuse for stuff like this.

I spend a while every month helping both of my parents with their respective computer problems (which have decreased since they both got a Mac, for what it’s worth). I set my father’s iMac up with Time Machine, and most things chug along normally. But every so often, something goes awry, and the things I end up fixing tend to be aspects of normal computer usage. They’re problems that you and I have managed to work around, but they’re frustrating behaviours to most people.

There’s a long way to go.

HP Envy Spectre XT ⇥ theverge.com

Sean Hollister reviews the HP Spectre XT for The Verge:

While the Spectre XT isn’t a complete clone of Apple’s [MacBook Air] — with rather different lid, hinge, speaker, and trackpad designs — the overall effect is clearly crafted to attract people who want a MacBook Air with Windows on board. […] [W]hile the earlier Envy 14 Spectre felt like a breath of fresh air, the Spectre XT honestly comes off as derivative

This looks like a MacBook Air that’s been hit with the ugly stick. As I wrote earlier this month:

I don’t protest against ripoffs from a lawyerly perspective (that’s Nilay Patel’s job), or even an art student’s perspective. It’s a simple fact that one cannot produce a better product by copying a current one.

Another missed opportunity.