One of the biggest benefits to the Android OS is it's ability to be customised, tweaked and setup exactly as we want it. However, is that also it's biggest weakness?

 

After owning an Android device since making the switch from an iPhone 3G, the ability to setup the device to look and act as I want had long been a nice change from Apple's walled garden. For the most part, there is an app for just about every change you want to make.

 

Replacement home screen launchers, SMS applications, lockscreens, automation, widgets and an almost endless number of possibilites awaiting the avid user in the Android Market.

Then there is the manufacturer/carrier customisation. HTC Sense, Samsung Touchwiz, Motorola Blur. All designed at adding thier own flavour and look to the underlying Android OS.

 

As a consumer, and a techie it seem's to be exactly what we crave. Over the 18 month course of Android ownership, I've lost count of the different looks and tweaks I've made. You can guarantee that every day my phone looks at least slightly different. The problem is, it just doesn't quite feel like it gel's together perfectly. All these different applications and tweaks are nice individually, but after looking at the phone as a whole, I've realised that the reason I keep tweaking is because I'm never quite happy. Things feel clunky, battery life suffers with certain apps/widgets, and the overall experience is not perfect.

 

The consumer also suffers with regards to manufacturer customisations. While there is no denying that HTC Sense and Samsung Touchwiz are nice looking and functional frameworks, it does leave user's at the mercy of the manufacturer when it comes to updates. I don't want to turn this into "Yet another Android fragmentation" rant, but consumers are getting left behind when it comes to updates for this very reason.

 

With the release of the iPhone 4S, i've started to realise why I liked the iPhone in the first place. It just worked! Everything was smooth, well designed and generally had no rough edges. I never felt the need to tweak because for the most part it did everything I needed well. (At least more so that stock Android) It has it downsides likes any OS, but there is no denying that when it comes to user experience, Apple wins hands down.

 

There is no denying that Android is a powerful operating system, and maybe Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) will solve some of these issues. However, ICS still looks "bare" compared to IOS. I can't help but think I'm still going to have to keep customising in an attempt to find the holy grail of functionality vs looks. I''m just not sure I can be bothered anymore.

There's been a lot of talk and speculation lately regarding the future of Apple devices and operating systems. As it stands, Apple has two different platforms designed for specific hardware and uses. The evidence is pointing towards a 'merge' of these two platforms, with a lot of speculation towards a unified hardware and software environment. But, is that really what we need?

An analyst for Jefferies & Co, Peter Misek offered a theory that the two products will completely merge by 2012, starting with a unified processor platform.

Currently, the Mac line-up utilises mainstream Intel processors which are used across the board in PC architecture and considered a standard when it comes to desktop processing. The iPhone/iPad line however, utilise Apple's own custom chipset, the Apple A4/A5 which is specifically tailored to the device. The belief is that future devices will all share a common processor designed by Apple, which would allow them to write software that could run on both devices. This makes sense, in that Apple can design a processor specific to their software, allowing greater control over power management and processor utilisation.

Will this also lead to a merge in software between the two platforms, and would that be a good thing? Personally, I'm not so sure that one single OS is the answer.

Read the rest of this post »

This post is mostly a lesson on my own stupidity, but also a shout out to Apple support for being so kind in the face of my stupidity!

I felt in the mood to listen to an album by "Five Finger Death Punch" (Yes, that is a band. Yes they shout a lot) but upon searching my iTunes library, I could not find it listed anywhere. Searched in artists, albums, compilations... used spotlight, browsed through my iTunes folder, checked time machine and my backups. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.

I immediately blamed iTunes. The answer was simple, it must have disintegrated the album and cast it into oblivion along with the backups just to spite me. I never for one minute believed I could have forgot to make a backup and accidentally deleted it. Nope. Must be iTunes fault.

After a bit of research I learned that Apple don't allow you to infinitely re-download music you have purchased, which seems fair. I see a lot of people complaining, however you wouldn't buy a CD from a store, and then expect another for free if you lost yours. Just make sure you back up after downloading (ahem...).

So, I emailed iTunes support on the off-chance, hearing that people have been given a one time chance to re-download. I recieved the following email back;

Good Afternoon Chris,

Thank you for purchasing from the iTunes Store. I'm sorry to hear the "Five Finger Death Punch" was lost from your library. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I am unable to add back to your account due to purchase being older than our 60 day refund/re-download limit. However, I was able to add five song credits onto your account for your convenience, courtesy of Apple iTunes Customer Support.

The iTunes Store encourages customers to back up their hard disks regularly. If an item needs to be replaced, you can restore your purchases from the backup and avoid the need to purchase replacement copies of titles from your collection.

Additionally, please make back up copies of your new purchases on a regular basis.

I sincerely hope that the information I have provided is more than helpful and that one of the options will work for you. If there is anything at all that you still need assistance with, please don't hesitate to let me know.

With Best Wishes,

Sincerely Yours,

Charlie
iTunes Store Customer Support

5 Free song credits after my own stupidity at deleting an album by accident? Awesome! Have to say that I was impressed at the gesture as I was only expecting an email back with a stern telling off for not backing up my files. I could be bitter and complain that I should be able to re-download the whole album but let's face it, the mistake was mine and they were under no obligation to help me at all. So I say, thankyou to Charlie and iTunes Customer Support for a fast reply and a good experience.

Has anyone else had any good customer support experiences? Seem's rare to hear of the good ones, so much hate in the world so i thought I'd give some love :)

When was the last time I went on holiday abroad? Ummm I guess work doesn't count? So that would probably be about 13 years ago. I kid you not! So when a colleague suggested I tag along for a snowboarding holiday I figured why not! What's the worst that could happen? I deserve a holiday, and I've always fancied giving snowboarding so it's official and I'm now stoked at the idea of going!

Date - 10th January for 7 nights
Location - Pas de la Casa, Andorra

Now comes the task of getting together the gear. As a noob at snowboarding I don't have a clue as to what's good or not. Help!

I'm still toying with the idea of buying vs renting the board and bindings. I can see me doing it again so almost seems buying would be more cost effective if I do go again. Plus my mate might have a second hand Forum Destroyer for sale... Oh the decisions!

So if anyone has any sbowboarding advice for a beginner, feel free to hit me up!!

CW

Hi there to all 2 of you that might read this :-)

I'll keep it short as there's not much to say, but here's my new place of all things blog and stuff. It's been a long time coming but I finally got a design together that I'm happy enough to run with. Although I'm too fussy, and already have a new layout in mind... perhaps that will get finished in the next few years!

Anyway, there is no agenda except me rambling about what I love, what pisses me off, or whatever other random things I decide I'd like to put into words. So here goes!