Category: Digital Lifestyle

Apple by Joe WilcoxSep 24, 20092:16 pm

Headline of the Day: ‘AT&T to Welcome iPhone Users to 2003 Tomorrow’

All Things Digital—and it’s an understatement. “At some point late tomorrow morning, the carrier will release an update enabling MMS,” he writes. About a minute later, AT&T’s network will go all to hell—it’s the end of the world as we know it—as iPhoners break out in one giant unison MMS.

Ah, the iPhone. A few weeks ago, I pronounced that my Nokia N97 is gone, it’s back again. I dumped the iPhone 3GS, and I’m surprised how little I miss the smartypants phone. Perhaps it was a psychological sense of missing out on something that caused the “disconnected” feeling using the N97 that I blogged about . No more.

Digital Lifestyle by Joe WilcoxSep 10, 20092:43 pm

'I'm a PC, and More Happy Is Coming'

Kylie is back! Everyone’s favorite Windows Photo Gallery youngster pushes Windows 7. (Say, is she a first grader now?) Kylie kicks off what the YouTube version of the commercial calls the “Good News” advertising campaign.

Apple by Joe WilcoxAug 28, 200912:03 am

My Nokia N97 is Gone

I am mad at Apple and Nokia. Apple has the best mobile software and services platform anywhere. Nokia offers the best hardware platform—granted, HTC closes in. This difference has forced me to choose one company’s smartphone over the other, leaving behind dissatisfaction with the compromise.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 18, 20092:54 pm

Spotted: Vivienne Tam Netbook

Here are a few things that go oddly together: A Mexican vacationer, Coronado Public Library and designer netbook. This picture tells a story.

Yesterday, I took my daughter over to Coronado High School, where, in other circumstances, she would attend. But we don’t live in Coronado, and San Diego School District is rumored to be resistant to transfers. We’re late trying to get in, too.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJul 2, 20092:01 pm

It’s Not the Myth, But the Fight Over the Man

Oh my, Decoding Steve Jobs: Trust the Art, Not the Artist” is shit hitting the fan. Today, for some strange reason. Steve has got to be one of the most controversial chief executives of modern times. Beloved by the Mac faithful, praised by Wall Street analysts and cursed by many others, he is Mr. Love Him or Hate Him.

Society by Joe WilcoxJun 29, 20094:54 pm

Remembering iPhone Two Years Later

Two years ago today, Apple launched the original iPhone. In June 2007, I described using Apple’s smartphone as “life changing.” Despite my grumpiness about iPhone battery life and 3G call quality, I stand by the description.

Web by Joe WilcoxJun 24, 20096:04 pm

Is There Anybody Hohm?

My reaction to Microsoft Hohm is mixed. The branding and marketing are quite clever, and that’s yet another welcome change. More fundamentally, Hohm is yet another example of Microsoft chasing Google’s tail. Maybe Microsoft should conserve some energy by taking a shorter path rather than tagging behind the weaving Google.

Society by Joe WilcoxJun 23, 20099:16 pm

Microsoft Has Lost Its Way Part 2

Microsoft has abandoned the fundamental principles that made it the most successful software company of the last decade and ensured its software would be the most widely used everywhere. But in just three years, since 2006, startups and Apple have set a new course for technology and how societies use it.

For Microsoft, this change is scarier than movie “Quarantine.” Without a course correction, Microsoft in the 2010s will be very much like IBM was in the 1990s. That’s no place Microsoft should want to be.

Society by Joe WilcoxJun 23, 20099:16 pm

Microsoft Has Lost Its Way, Part 1

Microsoft has reached a surprising, and quite unexpected, fork in the road to its future. Choices the company makes today and over the next 12 months will determine whether computing relevance shifts away from its products.

The company has abandoned the fundamental principles that made it the most successful software company of the last decade and ensured its software would be the most widely used everywhere. Understanding those principles, and how they shaped Microsoft’s past, are important for understanding what the future might be.

Apple by Joe WilcoxJun 18, 20097:31 pm

Why Is There No iLife-Equivalent for Windows?

Seriously, it’s kind of a “d`uh” question. Apple released iLife for Macintosh in January 2003. Every year or so, the suite gets better, with no Windows developer offering anything comparable. Isn’t it about time?

I fault Microsoft for not developing something equivalent, although, I concede, the company has the makings of a placeholder offering while working on something better (more on that in a few paragraphs). Microsoft should have stepped in when its partners didn’t.

Gear by Joe WilcoxJun 16, 20098:14 pm

My Minimalistic Home Office

For weeks, I’ve been meaning to post something about my minimalistic home office. Today, jkOnTheRun’s James Kendrick posted on his “clean minimalistic office,” which got me off my procrastinating butt.

I’ve worked out of a home office for more than a decade. People don’t ask as much about it as they did in 1999, when many fewer people worked remotely. But when there are questions, the first usually is: “How do you keep from getting distracted? You know, watching TV and stuff?”

Apple by Joe WilcoxJun 14, 20098:48 pm

Nokia N97 First Impressions

Late Friday, I started using Nokia’s hot new smartphone, the highly-anticipated N97. My first impression is “WOW.” This is the cell phone—eh, smartphone—I always wanted.