Comments for pyehouse http://www.pyehouse.com by tech, for tech Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:48:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on Review: OtterBox Defender for iPhone 4 by Benhttp://www.pyehouse.com/2011/10/10/review-otterbox-defender-for-iphone-4/#comment-30 Ben Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:48:21 +0000 http://www.pyehouse.com/?p=369#comment-30 I used this case on my iPhone 4 for about a year. It absolutely does what it is designed to do which is protect the phone. The bulk that it adds makes it very difficult to place in most pockets but it feels comfortable while texting and playing games. If you use you phone for the iPod feature then the rubbery outside makes a great no-slip case so you can set it on the dash or wherever and still take turns without the phone sliding around. I've since changed to a smaller case, a griffin brand that basically has a plastic back and a silicone outer bezel, and a scratch resistant film over the touchscreen. Apparently after a year of constantly opening and closing the head phone jack on the Otterbox it eventually tore and became a nuisance hence the change. Other factors made me go a different route as well. I don't like having a cell phone hanging from my belt. My job has me moving around a lot and the clip gets snagged often. And as Lynn stated it isn't very fashionable. If you don't tuck your shirt in the phone looks like you need a permit to carry it because you have this object under your shirt and hanging off your hip. Another problem with the belt clip is in conjunction with the Apple logo on the back of the phone. The combination adds an "I have an Apple product" feel to your wardrobe which is fine if that's the look you're going for but it also adds a "mug me" look to your wardrobe too so be careful where you display your products. You may want to invest in some Apple logo tattoos on your knuckles to counteract the said "mug me" factor. If you decide to put the phone in your pocket like I did be prepared to struggle to get it out sometimes because it's not only cumbersome but also the rubbery case doesn't slide out very easily. And also be prepared to clean lint out if the camera lense and speakers. The screen is recessed to help avoid contact when dropped but it also makes it difficult to tap items on the edges of the screen at times. All-in-all though the Otterbox case is a must have if you have a job where your phone may take a lot of abuse. I used this case on my iPhone 4 for about a year. It absolutely does what it is designed to do which is protect the phone. The bulk that it adds makes it very difficult to place in most pockets but it feels comfortable while texting and playing games. If you use you phone for the iPod feature then the rubbery outside makes a great no-slip case so you can set it on the dash or wherever and still take turns without the phone sliding around.

I’ve since changed to a smaller case, a griffin brand that basically has a plastic back and a silicone outer bezel, and a scratch resistant film over the touchscreen. Apparently after a year of constantly opening and closing the head phone jack on the Otterbox it eventually tore and became a nuisance hence the change. Other factors made me go a different route as well. I don’t like having a cell phone hanging from my belt. My job has me moving around a lot and the clip gets snagged often. And as Lynn stated it isn’t very fashionable. If you don’t tuck your shirt in the phone looks like you need a permit to carry it because you have this object under your shirt and hanging off your hip. Another problem with the belt clip is in conjunction with the Apple logo on the back of the phone. The combination adds an “I have an Apple product” feel to your wardrobe which is fine if that’s the look you’re going for but it also adds a “mug me” look to your wardrobe too so be careful where you display your products. You may want to invest in some Apple logo tattoos on your knuckles to counteract the said “mug me” factor. If you decide to put the phone in your pocket like I did be prepared to struggle to get it out sometimes because it’s not only cumbersome but also the rubbery case doesn’t slide out very easily. And also be prepared to clean lint out if the camera lense and speakers. The screen is recessed to help avoid contact when dropped but it also makes it difficult to tap items on the edges of the screen at times.

All-in-all though the Otterbox case is a must have if you have a job where your phone may take a lot of abuse.

]]> Comment on Is Apple Aiming for the Enterprise Now? by Benhttp://www.pyehouse.com/2011/10/05/is-apple-aiming-for-the-enterprise-now/#comment-24 Ben Fri, 07 Oct 2011 02:33:06 +0000 http://www.pyehouse.com/?p=358#comment-24 Agreed. I remember hearing once that Apple actually pitched the iPhone to Verizon first but Verizon declined because Apple didn't want Verizon to be the main support for the device. When you consider "do it yourselfers" and IT guys most like to be able to build a machine from the ground up but I believe even the hard drives in iMacs at least have some sort of temp sensor that is specific to their hard drives so going a local computer store to buy parts are usually out of the question. Has anyone seen a power supply for an iMac in Best Buy? Neither have I. Mac could get a lot more OS share if the OS was purchasable on it's own, but that would hurt their expensive hardware side and would also tarnish some of their quality control rep since they can't test every piece of hardware. And not saying everyone would abuse hardware but there has been the occasional situation where a usb cable found it's way into an ac outlet or a cdrom drive became a cup holder until it broke. I've been in offices where I had to peel the dust out of a pc because they sprayed disinfectant in the room all the time and it made the dust into a blanket. As stated before iPads would be great but higher ups can't trust the data plans in the hands of some employees. Some people haven't figured out that staying on Facebook for 4 hours a day wasn't in the job description. That's not necessarily an iPad problem I suppose. More of an ethics statement I guess. Presently I'm thinking that some proprietary software may start leaning to a web based interface that doesn't require any particular OS at all and that would be cool with me. Agreed. I remember hearing once that Apple actually pitched the iPhone to Verizon first but Verizon declined because Apple didn’t want Verizon to be the main support for the device. When you consider “do it yourselfers” and IT guys most like to be able to build a machine from the ground up but I believe even the hard drives in iMacs at least have some sort of temp sensor that is specific to their hard drives so going a local computer store to buy parts are usually out of the question. Has anyone seen a power supply for an iMac in Best Buy? Neither have I.
Mac could get a lot more OS share if the OS was purchasable on it’s own, but that would hurt their expensive hardware side and would also tarnish some of their quality control rep since they can’t test every piece of hardware.
And not saying everyone would abuse hardware but there has been the occasional situation where a usb cable found it’s way into an ac outlet or a cdrom drive became a cup holder until it broke. I’ve been in offices where I had to peel the dust out of a pc because they sprayed disinfectant in the room all the time and it made the dust into a blanket.
As stated before iPads would be great but higher ups can’t trust the data plans in the hands of some employees. Some people haven’t figured out that staying on Facebook for 4 hours a day wasn’t in the job description. That’s not necessarily an iPad problem I suppose. More of an ethics statement I guess.
Presently I’m thinking that some proprietary software may start leaning to a web based interface that doesn’t require any particular OS at all and that would be cool with me.

]]> Comment on Is Apple Aiming for the Enterprise Now? by Lynn Pyehttp://www.pyehouse.com/2011/10/05/is-apple-aiming-for-the-enterprise-now/#comment-23 Lynn Pye Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:32:35 +0000 http://www.pyehouse.com/?p=358#comment-23 Lots of interesting commentary here, Ben. There's actually no license required to develop software for a desktop or laptop Apple device unless you count the purchase of a development machine of your own, which may be substantial. The development tools are all freely downloadable. To develop for iOS devices it is also technically free. You have to pay $99/yr per developer if you want to sell them through the iTunes App Store but that is again a drop in the bucket compared to what you would expect to recuperate on a professional application of this type. As for cross platform development, there are actually libraries (Qt comes to mind, WxWidget is another) which are code compatible across Windows, Mac and Linux (though perhaps not for iOS devices). There would no doubt be corner cases, pieces of functionality you would have to create separate modules for to accomplish on each platform, so maybe that would stop them. But ultimately, yes, there is additional effort needed to make an app available across both Windows and Mac and it may not always be advantageous to try it. I think it will increasingly become so over time with the market share of OS X on the rise and iOS already firmly entrenched in the mobile market. For now, perhaps not so much. Regarding mistreating kit, in all of the companies I support, none would allow rampant mistreatment of company hardware. Most have hardware still running 5-7 years after purchase date (even when we beg them to upgrade because, really, it's time). I don't think Apple hardware would suffer any more than non-Apple hardware. In my opinion, the worst part would be the hardware support options for Apple, which are slim. Essentially you can bring your hardware to a Genius Bar to see if they can work on it in store, but generally you're going to end up leaving it with them and possibly having to ship it out for hardware replacement. For a consumer this is bad but par for the course. For a business, it is unacceptable. I know Dell provides hardware replacement policies with on-site, 24 hour turnaround service options. They might be expensive but they are available. Apple has no such policy, which would have to change before they could go much further into the business market. Lots of interesting commentary here, Ben. There’s actually no license required to develop software for a desktop or laptop Apple device unless you count the purchase of a development machine of your own, which may be substantial. The development tools are all freely downloadable. To develop for iOS devices it is also technically free. You have to pay $99/yr per developer if you want to sell them through the iTunes App Store but that is again a drop in the bucket compared to what you would expect to recuperate on a professional application of this type.

As for cross platform development, there are actually libraries (Qt comes to mind, WxWidget is another) which are code compatible across Windows, Mac and Linux (though perhaps not for iOS devices). There would no doubt be corner cases, pieces of functionality you would have to create separate modules for to accomplish on each platform, so maybe that would stop them. But ultimately, yes, there is additional effort needed to make an app available across both Windows and Mac and it may not always be advantageous to try it. I think it will increasingly become so over time with the market share of OS X on the rise and iOS already firmly entrenched in the mobile market. For now, perhaps not so much.

Regarding mistreating kit, in all of the companies I support, none would allow rampant mistreatment of company hardware. Most have hardware still running 5-7 years after purchase date (even when we beg them to upgrade because, really, it’s time). I don’t think Apple hardware would suffer any more than non-Apple hardware. In my opinion, the worst part would be the hardware support options for Apple, which are slim. Essentially you can bring your hardware to a Genius Bar to see if they can work on it in store, but generally you’re going to end up leaving it with them and possibly having to ship it out for hardware replacement. For a consumer this is bad but par for the course. For a business, it is unacceptable. I know Dell provides hardware replacement policies with on-site, 24 hour turnaround service options. They might be expensive but they are available. Apple has no such policy, which would have to change before they could go much further into the business market.

]]> Comment on Is Apple Aiming for the Enterprise Now? by Benhttp://www.pyehouse.com/2011/10/05/is-apple-aiming-for-the-enterprise-now/#comment-22 Ben Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:38:53 +0000 http://www.pyehouse.com/?p=358#comment-22 Apple has deffinitley tapped into the business market. Almost all our sales reps use iPads but it's pretty much just to check email, look at documents or watch videos. Can they install and use our merchandise ordering software on a Mac or iPad? No. Can they install our office management software on an iPad or Mac to demo to doctors? No. Can they show the latest and greatest in diagnostic technology using a Mac? No. There are a few pieces of technology out there that will use a OS X based software but it's very few and even further far between. Usually when Macs are seen in offices they are used to bootcamp Windows so a proprietary software can be used. Can you use iPads with our office management software which is sold internationally? Yes and no. You can tether the iPad wirelessly to a pc that uses the software so it seems like you are but in all reality the pc is doing the work and the iPad is just a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Can you connect a particular digital xray to a Mac and use it in a Mac based software? Yes but that's only because it sees the xray as a scanner. If any form of calibration needs to be done guess what? That's right. Pull out a pc to create the calibration file using a particular program and then copy and paste the calibration file into the Mac. I have asked manufacturers through the years why they don't have a Mac version of their software. The biggest response is there's just not enough market share in Mac to justify writing two versions of the same program. Another reason was that the license to write Mac compatible software is too expensive to justify selling only a couple hundred more copies, I don't know if this is accurate just relaying what I've heard, please correct me if this is not a case. One last hurdle Apple has to overcome is similar to my theory on flying cars. Can flying cars be possible? Yes. Can you trust a fraction of a percent of the drivers on the road today to have a flying car? Absolutely not! Bottom line is some companies can't trust their interns or employees to take care of an expensive piece of technology and use it responsibly. The mentality may be why spend over $1,000 on a Macbook that may get used as a frisbee when they can get a $300 Toshiba that already has Windows on it and will run pretty much any program out there. Is it a "messed up" system? Yes. Some people deserve flying cars but it only takes one to drive a flying car through a school to ruin it for everyone. I'll admit I love having my iPhone handy in the field. I'm constantly emailing pictures to manufacturers, looking a pdf manuals and browsing the internet to find solutions to problems. Can other smart phones do this? Yes. It would be nice though to go to an iPad, or any tablet for that matter, for our field work instead of 7 year old laptops running XP. It will be an interesting next few years to see what develops but right now I can't see Mac being big into enterprise. I can type more but the pizza is smelling good right now. Apple has deffinitley tapped into the business market. Almost all our sales reps use iPads but it’s pretty much just to check email, look at documents or watch videos. Can they install and use our merchandise ordering software on a Mac or iPad? No. Can they install our office management software on an iPad or Mac to demo to doctors? No. Can they show the latest and greatest in diagnostic technology using a Mac? No.
There are a few pieces of technology out there that will use a OS X based software but it’s very few and even further far between. Usually when Macs are seen in offices they are used to bootcamp Windows so a proprietary software can be used. Can you use iPads with our office management software which is sold internationally? Yes and no. You can tether the iPad wirelessly to a pc that uses the software so it seems like you are but in all reality the pc is doing the work and the iPad is just a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Can you connect a particular digital xray to a Mac and use it in a Mac based software? Yes but that’s only because it sees the xray as a scanner. If any form of calibration needs to be done guess what? That’s right. Pull out a pc to create the calibration file using a particular program and then copy and paste the calibration file into the Mac.
I have asked manufacturers through the years why they don’t have a Mac version of their software. The biggest response is there’s just not enough market share in Mac to justify writing two versions of the same program. Another reason was that the license to write Mac compatible software is too expensive to justify selling only a couple hundred more copies, I don’t know if this is accurate just relaying what I’ve heard, please correct me if this is not a case.
One last hurdle Apple has to overcome is similar to my theory on flying cars. Can flying cars be possible? Yes. Can you trust a fraction of a percent of the drivers on the road today to have a flying car? Absolutely not! Bottom line is some companies can’t trust their interns or employees to take care of an expensive piece of technology and use it responsibly. The mentality may be why spend over $1,000 on a Macbook that may get used as a frisbee when they can get a $300 Toshiba that already has Windows on it and will run pretty much any program out there. Is it a “messed up” system? Yes. Some people deserve flying cars but it only takes one to drive a flying car through a school to ruin it for everyone.
I’ll admit I love having my iPhone handy in the field. I’m constantly emailing pictures to manufacturers, looking a pdf manuals and browsing the internet to find solutions to problems. Can other smart phones do this? Yes. It would be nice though to go to an iPad, or any tablet for that matter, for our field work instead of 7 year old laptops running XP. It will be an interesting next few years to see what develops but right now I can’t see Mac being big into enterprise. I can type more but the pizza is smelling good right now.

]]> Comment on The Best Programming Tool… Ever by Kristoferhttp://www.pyehouse.com/2011/10/03/the-best-programming-tool-ever/#comment-20 Kristofer Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:29:11 +0000 http://www.pyehouse.com/?p=319#comment-20 I remember when a white board that size could actually hold the entire contents of nearly any software application's source code. I remember when a white board that size could actually hold the entire contents of nearly any software application’s source code.

]]> Comment on Windows 8 Metro Interface, The Wrong New Thing by Kristoferhttp://www.pyehouse.com/2011/09/13/windows-8-metro-interface-the-wrong-new-thing/#comment-12 Kristofer Sat, 17 Sep 2011 13:25:29 +0000 http://www.pyehouse.com/?p=224#comment-12 The Metro interface is designed for the future, but it will allow users to cling to the past. Windows XP had this feature for people who weren't ready to give up their Windows 2000 interface. Metro is designed for gestures. Gestures are great for mobile devices such as a phone or a tablet, but they are also great for Touch Screen enable monitors/computers. It is also great for Microsoft Surface. The Metro interface is designed for the future, but it will allow users to cling to the past. Windows XP had this feature for people who weren’t ready to give up their Windows 2000 interface.

Metro is designed for gestures. Gestures are great for mobile devices such as a phone or a tablet, but they are also great for Touch Screen enable monitors/computers. It is also great for Microsoft Surface.

]]> Comment on Windows 8 Metro Interface, The Wrong New Thing by Lynn Pyehttp://www.pyehouse.com/2011/09/13/windows-8-metro-interface-the-wrong-new-thing/#comment-11 Lynn Pye Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:12:06 +0000 http://www.pyehouse.com/?p=224#comment-11 There's going to be an option to launch "legacy" applications, so it's not a wholesale break and you won't be arm-twisted into always being in Metro-mode. However, it is going to be promoted to first class while everything else will be left as coach. There’s going to be an option to launch “legacy” applications, so it’s not a wholesale break and you won’t be arm-twisted into always being in Metro-mode. However, it is going to be promoted to first class while everything else will be left as coach.

]]> Comment on Windows 8 Metro Interface, The Wrong New Thing by Benhttp://www.pyehouse.com/2011/09/13/windows-8-metro-interface-the-wrong-new-thing/#comment-9 Ben Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:11:30 +0000 http://www.pyehouse.com/?p=224#comment-9 I'll agree that the windows 8 interface isn't impressing me right now. I hope that the metro style is merely an option and not a set interface. As far as Launchpad is concerned though it just seems like a redesigned applications folder that has taken a start menu approach to putting programs under groups. I'll hand it to windows though for actually making something that looks different on every version and old versions are supported for years even after new versions come out. After 3 versions of OSX none can be distinguished unless you look at the "about this mac" window or some of the new programs. I'm sure there are other ways but for day to day activities, internet browsing, itunes, etc..., not a whole lot is different. Personally home theater computers have caught my attention and Windows 7 is great for that. Windows Media Center along with various addons, some that are written locally, make watching movies and television through a pc a different experience. Add a blu ray drive and some form of streaming account and you have everything you need. Check out www.missingremote.com for more htpc info. As far as mobile os's on a desktop go I just assume keep those features for the phones. I see enough of my phone's os while I'm working. I'd like to look at something different when I get home. I’ll agree that the windows 8 interface isn’t impressing me right now. I hope that the metro style is merely an option and not a set interface. As far as Launchpad is concerned though it just seems like a redesigned applications folder that has taken a start menu approach to putting programs under groups. I’ll hand it to windows though for actually making something that looks different on every version and old versions are supported for years even after new versions come out. After 3 versions of OSX none can be distinguished unless you look at the “about this mac” window or some of the new programs. I’m sure there are other ways but for day to day activities, internet browsing, itunes, etc…, not a whole lot is different.
Personally home theater computers have caught my attention and Windows 7 is great for that. Windows Media Center along with various addons, some that are written locally, make watching movies and television through a pc a different experience. Add a blu ray drive and some form of streaming account and you have everything you need. Check out http://www.missingremote.com for more htpc info.
As far as mobile os’s on a desktop go I just assume keep those features for the phones. I see enough of my phone’s os while I’m working. I’d like to look at something different when I get home.

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