Typical Apple event blues?

Posted by & filed under techstuffs.

I picked up an iPad 2 over the holidays this past winter and I feel like it’s been one of the best tech purchases that I’ve made in a while. It’s not the gaming machine that I just picked up and it’s nothing I can do some killer video editing on, but for most things—including producing this post—it does just fine and with a minimal amount of effort, I can do things that I might have relied on a computer to do in the past.

So, unless the iPad 3/iPad HD is going to have some mythical quad-core processor along with the Retina-level quality display, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to find myself dumping my iPad 2 for the new model anytime soon. I haven’t used the model that I have to its full potential yet, and developers haven’t hit the limit of what the device can do either.

The main concern I have with using an Apple device from a previous generation is that developers seem to flock to the newest features that the new model has and they stop paying attention to what the old model had to offer. The Retina display upgrade with this model will accelerate the legacy status of the older models.

While this effect wasn’t as pronounced with the iPhone 4 transition due to Apple’s commitment to providing a low cost iPhone in the 3GS, many developers couldn’t develop apps for only the Retina display at first. Developers would eventually find the argument to make the iPhone 4 their primary target for app development as they could take advantage of an extreme improvement in graphics capability over the iPhone 3GS and prior models. This argument was also the basis for some graphical limitations between the iPad and iPad 2.

Similar reasoning and decisions will be made in the next quarter as far as future app development for the iPad ecosystem, but for today, it’s just time to sit back and enjoy the Apple show in San Francisco. 1 Oh, and there’s that television thing that might be happening today, as well.

Notes:

  1. Here’s an LA Times article that sums up what could happen today. ↩

feedbackagency.com: The future of tiles.

Posted by & filed under techstuffs.

I wrote something cool on my company’s blog regarding the Windows 8 preview that has been released for anyone to download and try out. The big money thought behind tiles?

Seeing the Start menu in action makes the design decisions of the Metro interface clear: information is the new icon. A nice-looking sprite that represents a program does nothing but identify itself. Windows 8 allows for the entire tile space to be used to not only identify an application, but quickly convey a summary of relevant information.

Check out the post over at feedbackagency.com. 1

Notes:

  1. feedbackagency.com: The Future of Tiles: an initial look at Windows 8. ↩

The 20MB app cap.

Posted by & filed under techstuffs.

Regarding TechMeme, it never ceases to amaze me that there is always something that that gets aggregated to the site that I end up reading because it’s either so far out of left field or it’s actually interesting. When the latter happens, I have increased chances of epiphanies at the rate of over 9000%.

One of the biggest strengths of the iOS platform is the availability of utility apps that are relatively light-weight compared to something you might use on a desktop. the look and feel of these applications have to feel efficient enough to have a use at all times but walk the fine line of reusing many graphics assets or sacrificing graphical quality in instances where it might not matter for the sake of another function of the app.

Saving size isn’t even all about app performance, but it’s about potential downloads. It’s a known turth that apps that stay in line under the 20MB cap and can be downloaded over the cellular network see an increased amount of downloads or purchases. Having a first impression that doesn’t include the sale being rejected because the app requires a wifi connection to install onto the device is a key component of  an app potentially ‘going viral’ inasmuch as apps can.

TheNextWeb’s Matthew Panzarino makes the observation with an app called Consume in a post to the site’s Apple section earlier today. 1

To give you an idea, we asked Bjango’s Marc Edwards about how the new Retina graphics would affect the size of one of its latest apps, Consume. He gave us these statistics regarding the app’s packages:

  • iPhone (Retina and non-Retina), iPad (non-Retina) = 18.3MB
  • iPhone (Retina and non-Retina), iPad (Retina and non-Retina) = ~35MB

For a universal app, simply supporting the new graphics that the upcoming iPad will boast could potentially double the size of applications. This might prompt Apple to revise its 20MB cap for downloading applications over cellular networks, but as the same networks crack down on moderate to heavy cellular data users with speed bumps and lowered caps, an increase could catch some folks off guard if they make a habit of constantly downloading over the air.

Back to the apps, themselves: you can bet that any developer with the inside information and have apps developed for the new hardware already has the fix in for their software. However, many developers are going to be scrambling to support the new hardware from as close to Day 1 as they can and it’s going to be an uphill battle if Apple doesn’t increase this cap.

Apple will be able to shrug off the damage if it doesn’t raise these caps, but developers certainly can’t. Adoption for the new iPad might be the highest priority for some companies, but making the trade to native resolution graphics for the cellular download cap might be a bit too much for developers to make.

Notes:

  1. TNW: Apple’s 3G Download Limit Means Trouble for iPad 3 Retina Apps ↩

Multiple tweets as a post, vol 1.

Posted by & filed under esports.

Edit:

Starting over is underrated, in theory.

Posted by & filed under blogstuffs, esports.

I haven’t submitted any features or editorials to ESFI recently, nor have I really allowed myself to write as often as I have meant to here. Realizing this weekend that I haven’t given an honest go at the larger goal that I finally sat down and attempted to complete this weekend, the column in this case, I figured that I would simply start over.

It sure was difficult to come to that conclusion.

Usually getting to a point where a due date is coming up means crunch time. It means putting in about 150%  of yourself until the task at hand is complete. Since I’m not getting compensated for sharing my opinions with folks on a larger ESFI platform, I decided that folks really didn’t want me doing something lame and speculating on what the year will being the sports community as a whole, and instead I have decided to focus like a laser on one particular aspect of the broadcasting element in consuming competitive games.

Hitting the proverbial reset button on the process was a mental relief and hassle at the same time. Sure, this let me come up with an idea that I might be able to ramble on about in a more persuasive manner, but now I have the added pressure of having to deliver on the promise that I would be contributing a column to the site. A recent addition to the editors of the site expressed concern in not having enough opinion to read on the website, and I fully intend to have something that might make this person proud to have donated his time to further games journalism in the competitive market.

With regards to gaming journalism: I want ESFI to grow. I’m not sure that I agree with the notions that there needs to be more than one ESFI for the journalism scene to be considered on fire. We’re doing the best we can ot continue producing content that covers SC2, Dota 2, CS and even upcoming titles that are expected to make a pretty big splash in the scene. I don’t think that having to do so requires many different websites that compete with each other to get the news and features that the community deserves. Instead, it’s more about breaking the power that large communities that teams have erected around themselves such as EvilGeniuses, TeamLiquid, vVv and other teams used to help build up the number of supporters and fans they could report to potential sponsors.

The reason ESFI hasn’t blown up per se is the fact that there are better venues for the PR machines behind each of these teams to release the information that needs to be covered. Depending on the community that the release is posted to, there might be massaging of the message intended for the general public. There might be a few details left out (think tournaments and where they were getting their funding from) and perhaps some fluffy speculation left in (but only when it serves the organizations interests to fully hype-up something).

It’ll be a long time coming when ESFI steps into its rightful place as a top-tier source for news through-out the entire gaming scene, but that’s because what’s working for teams and organizations is… well,… working right now. And that mantra about the not fixing what isn’t broke thing? That’s standard operating procedure for keeping things under control.

As far as owners, organizers and sponsors are concerned, there is no need to hit the reset button and give a site like ESFI a chance. They have the places to deliver their message and the audience to pass it on organically without too much work. There’s no need for comment or analysis from the audience outside of what’s necessary for the circlejerk of novelty Reddit accounts and forum troll fodder to continue adding to the list of reasons to give a shit about the community.

As ESFI grows, sources and players that might have avoided giving third-party interviews might not be so cold to the idea of journalism as a manner in which to increase awareness of something that needs more of spotlight as far as they’re concerned. But that’s ultimately the point of ESFI—to be fans of players and the games they play. It’s not to help the proliferation of the PR machine and help them control the message. It’s to report on news and share speculation on things in a unique enough manner with a goal to help the scene become more mature.

At least that’s what I’d like for ESFI to be—unafraid to hit the reset button.

This headline hurts my brain, vol 2.

Posted by & filed under srsbsns.

Before I go off on this rant, I just want to make it plain: I think there are some pretty screwed up things happening with our society nowadays, but I think one of the biggest issues at hand is this notion that there is a right to protest at the drop of a hat for almost anything.

I also want to make it plain that I’m not out to make enemies with this rant. It’s a rant. RANT. It might be on a sensitive matter, but trust me, I wrote this on not a lot of sleep after work one day and edited it during my lunch break today. I thought about scrapping it entirely, but decided instead to just post it. I’ll get back to esports and technology tomorrow.

I’m not a fan of the 99% and 1% terminology. Yes, I understand that it’s talking about the tax brackets of folks that might be protesting or of wealthy individuals who have moral shortcomings, but assuming that an overwhelming majority of people agree that protests, general strikes and even inciting mobs is the way to get Washington’s attention about anything is a mistake. The following 1 is the latest example of what I mean:

Now, I know that the caption has really made my point here, but I think it needs to be said—ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? That’s exactly what we need—one of the successful ventures that produced arguably one of the biggest success stories of the past decade are to be pitied when their tax bill comes due?

The article sounds more like a complaint than highlight the difference in proportions of taxable income certain brackets get. So, the author speculates that 99% of Facebook employees are complaining about how much they’re going to have to pay in taxes because they just worked hard for a bunch of money? What is to be done about this? Those under management of the business are to be given tax cuts because of the shock of their recently matured Facebook stock?

You’d think that by working in startups like these that they might realize that success might bring a new set of challenges and issues to deal with. The saying goes: mo’ money, mo’ problems… but you’d think that you’d be able to pay off the problems in short order with the ‘more money’ you made.

Then again, perhaps that why I can’t exactly wrap my head around the need to protest at the drop of the hat for anything. Maybe that’s because I’m considerably a bit selfish when it comes to problems that don’t affect me, or maybe that’s because I consider that my life situation doesn’t warrant a chant towards the government for any misfortune that might happen.

But back to the article for a second—it doesn’t mention Facebook employees that are upset by the prospect of paying taxes for the boon that they’re getting out of this entire deal. Perhaps the article is a bit academic in that case, but I still have a problem placing Facebook and 99% in the same sentence.

Notes:

  1. http://www.insidefacebook.com/2012/02/06/facebooks-99-taxes-restricted-stock-units-rsus/ ↩