What is APPLE planning?

[Jimbo]

I'm not "confused" by it. I get the "logic". I just don't agree with it, and think it's a wrong UI design decision.



Windows handles it a little differently, and more logically IMHO. With Apps that run in multiple windows (Excel being an example), if you have multiple windows open, clicking the Red X closes the window, but does not quit the parent application (as you incorrectly wrote). However, if the window is the last (or only) window running, clicking the X does close the app.

I can't tell you how many long-time Mac users I've encountered who have their dock loaded up with phantom apps, running but with no window or document open.

Yes, you're right I didn't describe it correctly.

But here's the problem on the other side. Let's say I'm using Windows and Excel. I'm working on 5 spreadsheets and one-by-one I finish and close what I'm doing. Now I want to start a 6th. I have to have the forethought to create that 6th document prior to closing the 5th. So then you have to go back and relaunch Excel. It's the flip side of the problem you just described.

 

[Jimbo]

Sort of, but Dropbox is a cloud service. Right now each individual app has its own documents folder, but apps under iOS are not allowed access to another apps documents folder. A global shared documents folder would solve this, but raises security issues. eg. if any app can access this shared folder then a malicious app could also grab your sensitive documents and transfer them to a remote server.

I agree this is an issue with iOS, particularly for more advanced users. There are times when one document type can be used by numerous apps - and there's the problem.

Apple will have to address this eventually.

 

[flaminio]

But here's the problem on the other side. Let's say I'm using Windows and Excel. I'm working on 5 spreadsheets and one-by-one I finish and close what I'm doing. Now I want to start a 6th. I have to have the forethought to create that 6th document prior to closing the 5th. So then you have to go back and relaunch Excel. It's the flip side of the problem you just described.

That's really reaching, Jimbo. You could:
1) Right-click in a folder, and choose New > Microsoft Excel Worksheet
2) Click on the Excel icon in the taskbar
3) Double-click on an Excel shortcut on the desktop
4) Go Start > Microsoft Excel
5) Go Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Excel
6) Hit Windows-R, then type "excel" and enter.

There's probably another half-dozen ways of launching Excel, too. Pick whichever one works best for you.

The actual business of relaunching Excel takes almost zero time, since you've just closed it and most of the program is still cached.

 

[Jimbo]

That's really reaching, Jimbo. You could:
1) Right-click in a folder, and choose New > Microsoft Excel Worksheet
2) Click on the Excel icon in the taskbar
3) Double-click on an Excel shortcut on the desktop
4) Go Start > Microsoft Excel
5) Go Start > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Excel
6) Hit Windows-R, then type "excel" and enter.

There's probably another half-dozen ways of launching Excel, too. Pick whichever one works best for you.

The actual business of relaunching Excel takes almost zero time, since you've just closed it and most of the program is still cached.

No more than just doing a Command-Q to quit an app on the Mac. Or Command-Tab to see all those all "phantom apps". I guess it all comes down to what you're used to.

 

[flaminio]

No more than just doing a Command-Q to quit an app on the Mac. Or Command-Tab to see all those all "phantom apps". I guess it all comes down to what you're used to.

My point is closing the app when the last document is closed errs on the side of "good". Leaving a phantom app running is "bad". Your example of inadvertantly closing the app when you really wanted to make a new document is spurious -- relaunching the app is simple in both Mac OS and Windows, and takes essentially zero time.

I don't even think zombie Steve Jobs could convince me that the Mac does this operation correctly.

 

[Jimbo]

My point is closing the app when the last document is closed errs on the side of "good". Leaving a phantom app running is "bad". Your example of inadvertantly closing the app when you really wanted to make a new document is spurious -- relaunching the app is simple in both Mac OS and Windows, and takes essentially zero time.

I don't even think zombie Steve Jobs could convince me that the Mac does this operation correctly.

Well, since Mac users should learn to quit apps by Command-Q and close windows by the red button - I don't know that the phantom-app issue is all that prevalent. And if there are novice users who don't know how to quit an application - it's very easy to see what apps are running, even windowless. Just a quick look in the dock or Command-Tab will show. I happen to like the consistency of having the window controls only affecting the windows.

To each his own.

 

[KSXNSX]

I would have to agree that it takes some time to adjust to closing the app on a mac, v. just closing the window.

But in the worst case scenario, the app is left open in the background if you don't close it. It's really not that bad unless you don't have sufficient RAM, and with most macbook pros coming with 4gb out of the box, with 8 and 16 gb upgrade options, it really shouldn't matter. Even with the default 4 (or even 2) an idling app isn't going to take away from real-world performance much.

Mac is not perfect, but for me personally, I will never go back. Windows users may think leaving an app open is a bigger problem than it is because I remember that it was a big problem on windows many times. Even with all of my apps open, my mac performs better than my old IBM Thinkpad. Granted it's not a fair comparison since almost everything on my MBP is superior performance-wise (CPU, HDD/SDD, RAM, etc.) but I think that user experience is better on the mac given two comparable setups.

 

[Gansan]

The phantom apps thing is not really big issue for most people. When an app is loaded and there are no documents (obviously not talking about something actively running like a game, in which case it's not a phantom app), there is not really that much of a penalty caused by the loaded app. The application's code is read only and dumpable at no cost if it is needed. If there are no documents open, there should be negligible RAM otherwise allocated.

Windows does similar things in certain cases. An example of this is Microsoft Office running a program at system startup to pre-load libraries into RAM to give the illusion Office starts up very fast.

 

[Moses]

If you have a Iphone and microsoft email you'll benefit from the new APP:

http://www.winrumors.com/microsoft-releases-skydrive-app-for-windows-phone-and-iphone/

 

[PHOEN$X]

If you have a Iphone and microsoft email you'll benefit from the new APP:

http://www.winrumors.com/microsoft-releases-skydrive-app-for-windows-phone-and-iphone/

Cool! Also, Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac is currently free after $30 MIR:

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3705588

I'm currently using Bootcamp and Virtualbox, but I'm going to give Parallels a try.

 

[NetViper]

Upgrading to a SSD drive is another option too.

So my PC died friday. No idea what happened. After logging in the screen was black with a cursor. Tried my best to fix it, but no luck.

So I got a 120 Gig SSD to replace the old HD. I must say, it is FAST. Wow. Crazy fast. Windows loads crazy fast. Photoshop is like a second.

I am pretty impressed. The 120 GiG was only $109 after a $30 rebate. Not bad at all. It is mainly for my programs. All my important files will still be on a normal HD.

So highly recommend the SSD. I will keep you all posted if it has any issues.

 

[flaminio]

Apple's Siri Still Hates the British. And Southerners

Apple's Siri Still Hates the British. And Southerners

Siri makes the new Apple iPhone 4S incredibly easy to use … as long as you're not from England. Or Scotland. Or Tennessee. Or Mexico.

"It just didn't understand," Joanna Randell, a content manager for a branding firm and a native of Nottingham, England, told FoxNews.com.

Siri comes with support for five languages: three dialects of English (U.S., United Kingdom, and Australia), French and German. But switching to a different language dramatically limits Siri's functionality, Randell said.

"If you want to use it to search for a place or a location on a map, you have to use the American version -- you can't use the British version," Randell explained. Try to find a post office or drug store with British English enabled, and Siri will demurely decline.

One user fixed Siri the easy way: He ditched his iPhone entirely.

"I have solved my problem/frustration with Siri and my Spanish accent: I changed my iPhone for a Samsung Galaxy S II and the voice recognition is much, much better -- plus this phone has a Spanish [language] voice-recognition option too."

 

[PHOEN$X]

Re: Apple's Siri Still Hates the British. And Southerners

Apple's Siri Still Hates the British. And Southerners

Well, at least it's better than WP7. :biggrin:

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[NSX-C2]

Does anyone know when iPhone 5 will be released?

 

[Jimbo]

does anyone know when iphone 5 will be released?

2012

 

[NsXMas]

You do have a choice. You have the choice to buy another product. So choice religion out of the way, the question is then which product you like the best.

What I want is the best, most well designed user experience. I want the delight of someone having already thought things through. I want my product to be a pleasant and satisfying experience. I want it to work smoothly with my Mac. When I find that Android phones start beating iOS in these areas, I will probably decide to get one.

I think what you want is a fun device to tinker with. You want to be able to customize things. You want to take advantage of other people's tinkering to modify how your device works. If you want that, then you have definitely made the right choice. (I don't mean you specifically, but a customer.)

However, Open is not always better. It can be an illusion. Look at how Verizon is blocking NFC on the Galaxy Nexus. If the phone were truly open, it would be your device to use as you see fit. Instead, Verizon has decided nope, they want to figure out a way to make money on the deal too. Can't have money flowing through a Verizon device without them gathering a percentage. There is a price for Open. It means "open for carriers to lock down as they see fit." This leads to software you can't uninstall without rooting. Or locked bootloaders. Or disabled features like NFC.

LOL Apple has the best, most well designed user interface?

Then answer this question for me - take a look at your iPhone, iPad 2, whatever, tell me how much space your videos and photos take on the device.

Can't do it, can you??? :biggrin:

It seems every day I find some new limitation of what I can't do on my iPhone 4S or my iPad 2...something so ridiculously simple that you'd swear Apple would offer it, and then to your shock and chagrin - nope Steve Jobs thought you'd never need it. Awesome!!!

Apple has everyone fooled. A grid of 4 x 5 icons ain't the best, most well designed UI.

 

[Yawwn]

Then answer this question for me - take a look at your iPhone, iPad 2, whatever, tell me how much space your videos and photos take on the device.

Can't do it, can you??? :biggrin:

If you go into the Settings, you can navigate to General, then Usage, then Manage Storage, then Backups, and it will tell you the size of your camera roll that is to be backed up. This is an indicator of how much space your videos and photos take up.

 

[NsXMas]

If you go into the Settings, you can navigate to General, then Usage, then Manage Storage, then Backups, and it will tell you the size of your camera roll that is to be backed up. This is an indicator of how much space your videos and photos take up.

Thank you, somewhat informative albeit extremely archaic way of getting a general sense of this info. :smile:

Another shining example of the best phone UI...

EDIT: it seems this option only works if you're on iOS 5, and it seems to be really only there because of the iCloud back up.

On my iPad 2 with iOS 4.3.3, there is no such option and as such you're SOL unless you upgrade to iOS 5 (which would render the possibility of jailbreak moot if I were to do so). So prior to iCloud there was no way to find this info out on your device???

 

[heySkippy]

Then answer this question for me - take a look at your iPhone, iPad 2, whatever, tell me how much space your videos and photos take on the device.

Can't do it, can you??? :biggrin:

Have you looked to see if there's a app that will do that?

 

[NsXMas]

Have you looked to see if there's a app that will do that?

I have, and have not found one yet. The fact it's not available via the System options means it's very unlikely there will be an app that can get this system level info. You may have to jailbreak to find the info...not the answer I'm looking for.

 

[Jimbo]

I have, and have not found one yet. The fact it's not available via the System options means it's very unlikely there will be an app that can get this system level info. You may have to jailbreak to find the info...not the answer I'm looking for.

Huh?

How do you arrive at that? There are many apps that work with system level stuff that does not appear in System Options.

Furthermore, you can easily view photos, movies, etc usage through iTunes. Afterall, iTunes is a primary means of moving, transferring or deleting content from the iOS device.

Having said that, now that Apple is making moves to make iOS devices to be more standalone devices, I would expect to see a more comprehensive way of doing this directly on the native device in the future.

There are apps which provide all kinds of detailed system stuff. System Status is one such app.

If you think it's real important to have this, why don't you write an app? You might make a lot of money (unlike Android developers).

-J

 

[NsXMas]

Huh?

How do you arrive at that? There are many apps that work with system level stuff that does not appear in System Options.

Furthermore, you can easily view photos, movies, etc usage through iTunes. Afterall, iTunes is a primary means of moving, transferring or deleting content from the iOS device.

Having said that, now that Apple is making moves to make iOS devices to be more standalone devices, I would expect to see a more comprehensive way of doing this directly on the native device in the future.

There are apps which provide all kinds of detailed system stuff. System Status is one such app.

If you think it's real important to have this, why don't you write an app? You might make a lot of money (unlike Android developers).

-J

Ok Jimbo, I knew you'd chime in. :biggrin:

iTunes is the biggest piece of crap ever installed on a computer. You're saying it's the solution? LOL

iTunes has messed up my iPhone / iPad (and my PC!!) more than any other software (even including malware!!!). Of course an Apple apologist like yourself would never admit to that.

Apple developers make more money because Steve Jobs saw to it that the device is so damn crippled with lacking basic features that you have to pay for apps to do some of the basic stuff (even then most of the apps can't do it because of iOS limitations)!!! :tongue:

When people wake up, as I have, like in the movie Matrix, there will be a revolution. Apple shall rule no more!!! :biggrin:

PS: I downloaded System Status Lite app, and it does not tell me anything about my video / photo storage. Looking at the screenshots of the full version ($1.99) it doesn't appear to show that either. I have no idea what you're talking about Jimbo...now it seems you're just making stuff up to make Apple look good.

 

[Arshad]

Then answer this question for me - take a look at your iPhone, iPad 2, whatever, tell me how much space your videos and photos take on the device.

Can't do it, can you??? :biggrin:

What are you trying to do? Figure out how much space the photos+videos take up by themselves or just find out how much space you have available on the device in general?

To get a full breakdown of each category, it's normally done through iTunes. I agree that this information should be shown directly on the device as well.

If you go to settings->About, you can see the number of photos, videos, songs, as well as total and used capacity on your device.

 

[heySkippy]

I feel for the people who have iTunes troubles. I've been using it 10 years since I got my first iPod and it's worked great.

That said, I agree that info should be available on the device. I'm surprised there aren't apps.

 

[jonas1jp]

I feel for the people who have iTunes troubles. I've been using it 10 years since I got my first iPod and it's worked great.

That said, I agree that info should be available on the device. I'm surprised there aren't apps.

Why do you need to know? I just check mine every once in a while when it's plugged into the computer. iTunes will tell you how much memory you're using, what media uses how much, and what you have remaining on your iPhone, or the Apple TV (the old version like mine). I guess that's why I opted for the larger memory in the phone when I purchased it; I haven't been concerned.

I, like you, have had no troubles at all. I use it every day, and have for years. I'll just reiterate the sentiment - to each their own.