Tyler the Tech Guy

This morning, I downloaded the latest major software update for the iPhone and iPod Touch — iOS 4 (renamed from iPhone OS). I’ve been playing with it all day on my iPhone 3GS, testing the new features and exploring how it performs and what it can do. I have an extensive run though, some thoughts and impressions, and some useful tips.

iOS 4 is available now for all iPhone 3G and 3GS users, though original iPhone users have been left out and iPad users won’t get it for a few months. To get it, you just need to plug your iPhone into your computer and hit update, but if you don’t have iTunes 9.2 yet you’ll have to upgrade to that version first.

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About a month ago, I posted my last ever article for the Occidental Weekly, a piece about the then unannounced iPhone 4. However, that wasn’t my original idea for my last college newspaper article ever–I had wanted to go out with a bang. My idea was to write a wide-spanning piece about where consumer technology is heading, and offer some concrete advice that readers could use going forward. Unfortunately, that article wasn’t able to get printed in the paper, but I did ultimately write it, and there’s no better place to publish it than right here. Here it is:

In the last four years, there have been astronomical changes in technology. Back in the stone age–2006–nobody had an iPhone, having a flat screen TV was a big deal, and if you used the word “tweet” people would have thought that you were crazy. The idea that you could browse the internet from your phone–or have your mom friend you on Facebook–seemed like a ridiculous impossibility.

Technology is going to keep on changing in new and hard to predict ways, but it is possible to look ahead at what’s coming down the pipeline, and to be ready to adopt or accommodate things as they come. This is my take on where things are trending, and what these changes will mean for consumers.

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A few weeks ago, I gave my initial impressions of the iPad. To quickly sum up my view, I said that the iPad doesn’t make sense in its current incarnation — that it does less than an iPhone, costs more, and definitely can’t fit in a pocket. If you’re going to be carrying around a bag anyway, you might as well throw a netbook in there, since they are less expensive, more capable, and get equal (or better) battery life.

What I didn’t qualify in the article however was that “in its current incarnation” part. You see, I think that this first generation iPad is just the tip of the iceberg. Apple has some big, big plans for the iPad. Remember, they’re trying to create a whole new third category of computing. This is what I actually think is going to happen with the iPad over the long-term:

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In an article for the Occidental Weekly, I look at Microsoft’s recently announced Windows Phone 7 Series, which does something unique — integrates Xbox Live into the cell phone. Here’s the article lead:

As a generation, we are fixated on “converged devices” such as iPhones and Blackberries that not only function as cell phones but as mp3 players, internet browsers and GPSs. In order to really succeed in the market, companies are constantly competing to create the phone with the most useful apps and most advanced features. In 2010, Microsoft is set to take phone utility and innovation to a whole new level. Last week in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, the largest international trade show for cellular phones, Microsoft unveiled its plans for an unprecedented combination: a cell phone with Xbox gaming capabilities.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

Is the Apple iPad a game changer… or will it ruin Apple’s hot streak? In an article for the Occidental Weekly, I give my impressions of Apple’s latest “magical” device. Here’s the article lead:

Last Wednesday, Apple unveiled the iPad, a top-secret product that they have been working on for years. Tech-lovers across the globe eagerly awaited this unveiling only to be disappointed: Apple’s latest innovation is… a giant iPhone.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

I offer tips and tricks for getting most out of Gmail in an article for the Occidental Weekly. Many businesses and schools (including Oxy) have been switching over to Gmail, and Google’s email interface can take a little getting used to. This guide should help make the transition a little easier, and provide knowledge that will be helpful to all Gmail users. Here’s the article lead:

The Gmail interface is different from most other e-mail programs, and it can take a little getting used to. But if you take the time to learn the tricks and nuances of Gmail, it can prove to be a quick and efficient program. Whether you’re using Gmail reluctantly or lovingly, these tips should help make dealing with your Oxy e-mail (or any Gmail account) easier.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

Below is an article that I originally wrote for BNET about a switch in the way that radio audiences are measured. It’s a huge change in the industry, and I discuss what it means for stations and advertisers:

The way that radio ratings are determined — and therefore the way that advertisers buy radio — has been changing. Arbitron, the company that calculates ratings for radio stations in different markets, is gradually shifting from a diary based system — where people are expected to remember and record their radio listening habits — to a system based on a device that they call the Personal People Meter (PPM).

The Personal People Meter is a beeper-sized device that picks up any audible radio-encoded transmission, stores that information, and sends it to Arbitron. People enlisted by Arbitron carry these around with them at all times, so their radio listening habits can be recorded and observed.

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What do newspapers, music companies, and makers of portable navigation devices like TomTom and Garmin all have in common? They have the same problem — someone is willing to give their product away for free.

In the case of the first two, it has brought about the expectation that these goods and services ought to be free (which is part of the reason that newspapers around the country are failing and the U.S. is so deficient in quality journalism, but that’s another story). In the case of navigation devices, that expectation isn’t here yet, but the GPS and portable navigation device (PND) makers will need to act quickly to make sure it doesn’t happen.

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Eventually, social networking on phones is going to keep us constantly connected with all of our friends in real time. In an article I wrote this week for the Occidental Weekly, I talk about an upcoming phone from Motorola—the CLIQ—that will take us several steps closer to that reality. Here’s the article lead:

I am connected to all my friends right now. I’m also connected to them when I’m in the quad or on top of Mt. Fiji. That’s because I’ve got all my social networks – Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn – on my phone.

I cannot say whether or not it’s a good thing to be connected to everyone all the time, nor do I know what the larger implications are for a society that revolves around being constantly connected. But what I do know is this – it’s what people want.

The consumer electronics companies know this too. Motorola is hoping that it will save their butts.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.

In an article published in this week’s Occidental Weekly, I look at Apple’s new iPod lineup. Apple added very little to their devices… but they can now compete in some crazy new areas. Here’s the article lead:

Apparently, your iPod can do anything. At least that is what Apple is saying about their new iPod lineup, which they announced Wednesday, Sept. 9. What’s interesting about Apple’s keynote–besides the fact that Steve Jobs is back with a brand new kidney and still looks too thin–is that despite giving all the iPods boring, incremental updates, iPods are now starting to compete in several new markets.

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A complete archive of all my writing for The Occidental Weekly, including past Tyler the Tech Guy articles, can be found here.