A fascinating post showed up on TechCrunch recently.
The article is worth a read and is actually quite thought-provoking. In short, the premise is that by trying to integrate the app mentality of phones and tablets, computers have short-changed users, resulting in “a junky experience”.
I’m not sure I agree. Looking specifically at Windows 8, there’s not question that the experience is not quite entirely ‘appified’, nor is it entirely a traditional program based experience. Continue reading
At least it is when you play it like this.
Between the World Junior hockey championships hosted in my home province and coaching two completely hockey-crazy boys – along with a few other things – hockey has been on my mind a lot lately. That’s why a recent column by Joe O’Connor prompted me to write the letter below, that was today published in the National Post.
The original column is a fascinating look at the numbers around amateur hockey in Canada and how the US is catching up to Canada in terms of the number of kids taking the game up and then sticking with it to go on and play at high levels. The writer gives Hockey Canada, and all hockey-loving Canadians, a lot to think about, but I thought there was one part of the discussion he overlooked. Continue reading
Windows 8 new ‘Modern UI Interface’ desktop layout
Much has been made of the Windows 8 Metro Modern UI Style interface and the problems some users are having with it – especially in a desktop computer environment. Even on the tablet side, where opinion generally seems to be more positive, there are concerns about the way Microsoft is rolling the software out – and specifically the confusion the two different versions will likely cause.
Up to this point I’ve been a pretty loud supporter of the new operating system anyway. I installed the consumer preview on a Samsung ultrabook and that process went fairly smoothly, with only a few snags (that are to be expected in any operating system upgrade). I played with the new interface and actually liked it – even on a laptop.
But then I realized how tightly integrated the new OS is with Windows Live – and that’s when the whole thing started to go right off the rails.
I ran into a snag subscribing to Wired magazine when I moved from an iPad to an Android tablet – a problem that is compounded by living in Canada. I wrote Wired in what I thought was a light-hearted way to tell them how much their policies stink. I got a short, canned response that I think is entirely insufficient, so I decided to post my letter here.
Rise up with me Canadian tech geeks! It is time to demand better!!
Hello,
I have been a long-time Wired reader and simply love your magazine. I am writing today to ask why you hate me so much?
I am a Canadian, and I read magazines on a tablet, having recently switched from an iPad to an Asus Infinity Prime tablet. I based the decision on my frustration with Apple, and on glowing reviews like your own that mentions its “beautiful screen” and that says it has “lots of speed and braun”.
Imagine my shock, then, when I saw that Wired doesn’t actually have an Android app at all. The iPad app has been out for over a year, but there is nothing for Android!
“Wow,” I said to myself. “That is shocking. But I see I can get it on Amazon via Kindle, so all is not lost.” Continue reading