I’ve been using Chrome as my primary browser for quite a while. One of my favorite advantages of Chrome is the ability to change your default tab. I’ve used quite a few different ones, but for the last week, I have been using Momentum after reading a Lifehacker post, and liking the screenshot. I think I am going to stick with it.
I like it because I like the visual appeal of the photography that they choose, the simple access to weather, and a quick persistent todo list that it offers. (I use a paper to do list for my primary.) The idea of the main focus, which is a question is asks you each day, makes you contemplate that for a few moments each morning.
The previous generation Glif has been a constant part of my iPhone photo setup with a small tripod and the headphones as an off phone shutter release. Of course I ordered the new, adjustable Studio Neat — Glif today when it was released. It’s a nice combination of stand and tripod adaptor, and now it will work with all my phones.
I carry camera gear with me, in my backpack, just about everywhere I go. I’ve almost always had a DSLR, a point and shoot, and some kind of phone camera, and I bring some version of this set of gear with me when I go out of town, or out on the town. Sometimes, it’s a hard decision on which version of this set of gear I should bring. I mainly use my Sony NEX-7, which I absolutely love as my point and shoot now, but it’s too big to fit in my pocket comfortably, meaning that I leave it home when I would sometimes like to bring it. A lot of the time, I am just carrying my phones, and I take about half the photos I take with my iPhone 5.
I’m intrigued by the new Sony QX10 and QX100 smartphone attachments that are compatible with the iPhone. This attachment approach seems a little fiddly to me at first glance, but also seems like the next step that makes sense in the evolution of pocket camera gear. I already carry a small pack of extras for iPhone photography including a Glif, a small tripod, and the stock headphones to use as an off phone shutter trigger. This would be a natural extension of that kit, assuming it fits in my pocket comfortably. I suspect that they should have designed it with the average pocket size in mind, and doubt that they did. I’m going to take a flyer on the cheaper one and see if it fits my gear profile somewhere between just the iPhone 5 and the step up to the Sony NEX-7. As always, Digital Photography Review has a pretty thorough overview post with a lot more detail.
I’m pretty excited to be going to XOXO again this year, last year’s conference really gave me a shot of creative energy. Yesterday, they released the full attendee list, and I made a twitter list of all attendees, like the one that I made last year. I found that it was a great way to experience more of the thoughts and conversation as the conference went on. Seems like other people found it handy too. If you are on the list, and your Twitter name is not right, or you do not want to be included, feel free to hit me up on Twitter.
I’ve been meaning to get around to doing this for a while. Here’s the first of many wallpaper posts. It’s a rainy window shot that I took of my office window this week.
I’ve created versions of it that should look good on iPad, iPhone 5, Retina MacBooks, and a standard desktop resolution. If you want all of them, grab the zip. I’ve also provided direct download links for iPhone and iPad. Looks really great with iOS7, and its new effects, by the way.
It’s been hard for me to be analytical about this shutdown because it made me pretty mad at Google, even though I don’t really have a right to be mad. I used Reader for years, and harder than most people who used it daily. I read my stories mainly via the various apps I used to read news hooked to the API, and hardly ever logged on to the web interface. I got a ton of value out of the Google Reader ecosystem over the years, and I never paid even a single dime to Google. (I have paid a fair amount of money to RSS Reader developers over the years, but that’s unrelated.)
I’ve found “good enough” replacements for the tools I was already using, and I am purposely using a backend rss service that I can pay for. (Feedbin) The crux of the point that Marco makes, that we should keep moving in spite of Google, is an important takeaway. The threat here is bigger than this single shutdown, and Marco actually does a great job of summing it up when he says, “Google Reader is just the latest casualty of the war that Facebook started, seemingly accidentally: the battle to own everything.” The anger I felt as a result of the shutdown was a reaction to having something I value greatly seemingly snatched away for no reason, and having no control over this result. This feeling of lack of control is actually the right motivation to support, as Marco calls it, “the antithesis of this new world.”
This was my fifth straight WWDC, and was unique for me in a number of ways. I got a couple of opportunities I have not had in previous years, and had a really packed schedule over the four days I was in San Francisco.
I’m impressed by iOS 7. They’ve done so much in seven months. Having said that, they have a lot of ground to cover for release, and I am holding my breath a little for the release on iPad.
I represented my team to accept the Webby award we won for Best in Sports Mobile Apps. Here’s the video of the five word speech I gave when accepting the award.
I flipped the switch early, but I have been working on moving this site so I can use it properly again for a while. Lots of broken links and unfinished business, but it’s better than the site that hadn’t been updated in two years. Bear with me, I will get there a little at a time.
