Awkward Hare

"We tell ourselves, “a computer only does what we tell it to.” But, when it comes down to it, if we..."

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:35:53 -0600

“We tell ourselves, “a computer only does what we tell it to.” But, when it comes down to it, if we aren’t getting the result we want out of the computer, we often give in and do whatever it is the computer wants us to do.”

- – Adam Keys

So, true. Sometimes we later find what the software was guiding us to was a better choice in the long run, as well. Often not, but sometimes.

22 Years

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:23:00 -0600

Federico Viticci, on his 445 day journey through cancer treatment:

This is not a post about the lessons I’ve learned. I am still learning. There’s an old saying in Italy that goes like this: “life is a continuous exam”. I believe that’s true. How can I write about life when I’m still learning how to deal with it?

I remember standing in roughly the spot he is in today. In the course of one week in early December 1989, I turned 21, graduated from NYU…and was diagnosed with cancer.

I was lucky enough to be treated by the top cancer doctors in the U.S. at the National Institutes of Health Cancer Center (yes, using your tax $$$). I spent the next year meandering my way through a series of procedures, surgeries and chemotherapy. I learned a lot about unconditional love from the incredible support I got from family and friends. I learned even more about courage from the other patients at N.I.H. – most of whom faced much more questionable outcomes than I.

For me, the “445 days” was more like 380 days. After that year, the scans, the blood tests, etc. continued. First weekly. Then monthly. Then yearly. And now it’s been 22 years. Science did kick my cancer’s ass.

I look forward to reading Federico’s “22 years” post someday – and trust me, he’ll still be “learning how to deal with” life then, too. I sure am.

Disable Notifications with Guided Access

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:00:00 -0600

Over at Macworld, Lex Friedman points out a real need in iOS – to have a convenient way to temporarily disable notifications. I agree with his post, but for a lot of the specific use cases he mentions such as watching a video or using navigation where you are primarily in one app there is a solution – Guided Access.

Guided Access is a new iOS 6 feature intended for primarily education and accessibility uses. Per Apple:

Guided Access helps you to stay focused on a task while using your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Guided Access limits your device to a single app and lets you control which app features are available.

I have not seen it specifically documented, but in my testing, when Guided Access is enabled Notification Center is not available and new notifications do not trigger banners or sounds.

It’s not all that inconvenient to use, either. If you go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access, you can enable it. Once on, you simply triple click the home button when in an app, and you can start a Guided Access session. This will lock you into the single app until you triple click home again and key in a passcode to end the session – but until that time, you will happily be notification free. When you leave your Guided Access session, all your notifications are waiting for you in Notification Center as well – they don’t just disappear.

Photo

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:05:36 -0600

Tunes 2012

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 10:01:25 -0600

Tunes 2012:

My buddy Tim posts great end of year music retrospectives every year. I make a pathetic Rdio playlist of what I’ve been listening to as a response – not all of it is from 2012, I’m not good at chronological thinking.

MacStories Interview

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 08:44:02 -0600

MacStories Interview:

Federico Viticci and I chatted about apps and stuff, and he put it on the Internet. Fun discussion.

Brett Kelly on the iPad mini

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 08:09:39 -0600

Brett Kelly on the iPad mini:

I have similar feelings about mine. I’m keeping it for testing, and it will get used around the house for gaming, but I much prefer the full sized iPad 3.

Photo

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:41:19 -0600

Photo

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 10:04:25 -0600

Xmas 2012 Playlist

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:23:54 -0600

Xmas 2012 Playlist:

I used to burn CDs (and before that, make mixed tapes) for the holidays. This year I’m doing it on Rdio. Hope you enjoy!

"I’m not a person that puts value in being recognized. This doesn’t drive me. I am driven by great..."

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:38:47 -0600

“I’m not a person that puts value in being recognized. This doesn’t drive me. I am driven by great work and seeing people do incredible things and having a part in that.”

- Tim Cook’s Freshman Year: The Apple CEO Speaks - Businessweek

Default iPhone Ringtones Done with Acoustic Guitar

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:20:00 -0600

What the title said, pretty much.

I fired up GarageBand and tried to reproduce several of the default iPhone ring tones on my acoustic guitar. I stayed true to the key and tempo of the originals as closely as I could.

Feel free to download/share/distribute.

These are .m4r ringtone files, ready to be synced with an iPhone. Safari will play them inline if you just want to preview.

Do, or do not. There is no why.

The Problem with iCloud

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 09:02:00 -0500

Kyle Baxter speaks the truth:

Both as a user and developer, I want iCloud to live up to its promise. I hope it does soon. But the reality is that right now, it isn’t there yet, and for developers, choosing between iCloud and their own custom sync service is no easy choice.

On iPads in Education

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:01:00 -0500

Technology for technology’s sake is not progress. I love the idea of iPads in the classroom, but just like the computers that came before them, they don’t inherently improve the education experience.

A lot of people are linking to this story about San Diego Schools purchasing 26,000 iPads. For me, the key sentence in the story is at the end:

The software and technology programs the district will use is not yet clear.

It should be clear. Just like Apple plans an integrated software and hardware experience to make a compelling product, so should education administrators planning a purchase of this scale.

And don’t tell me iBooks are a great way to learn science. Can they aid in the process? Yes. Can they enhance understanding for different types of learners? Yes. Can they replace a hands on experiment? Hell no.