General Apple Megathread

[Cactus Jack]

Questions about syncing. I bought the new iphone and plugged in to get everything that was on my old phone to my new one. All my apps and contacts synced, but music was a different story. All my music files showed up on my new phone but I'd say about half of the files are grey. I can't click them and can't listen to them on my new phone, only on itunes. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks

[QuadCityImages]

I've been reading Steve Jobs, and I have got to say I highly recommend the book to anyone who's into tech at all. Its known that I'm not an Apple fan, and the book doesn't change my mind, but I also have always given them credit where its due. Its just amazing to read the insiders perspective about how all of the stuff that we have now, from GUI's to cd-ripping to Pixar, came about. The Disney vs Pixar story was something I knew a little about, but this book goes into pretty good detail.

The author does an amazing job of staying neutral. He points it out when Jobs lied, but you can tell he was his friend and respected him. At no time have I felt like the author was over-hyping the good, or glossing over the bad; it really seems like an honest documentation of his life.

Going into the book I knew Jobs was super smart, eccentric, and kind of a jerk. The book has shown me that I underestimated how smart he was, how strange he was, and how much of an ass he could be to people. You couldn't write a fiction novel of his life and have anyone believe it, but here it is in a biography.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

I've been reading Steve Jobs, and I have got to say I highly recommend the book to anyone who's into tech at all. Its known that I'm not an Apple fan, and the book doesn't change my mind, but I also have always given them credit where its due. Its just amazing to read the insiders perspective about how all of the stuff that we have now, from GUI's to cd-ripping to Pixar, came about. The Disney vs Pixar story was something I knew a little about, but this book goes into pretty good detail.

The author does an amazing job of staying neutral. He points it out when Jobs lied, but you can tell he was his friend and respected him. At no time have I felt like the author was over-hyping the good, or glossing over the bad; it really seems like an honest documentation of his life.

Going into the book I knew Jobs was super smart, eccentric, and kind of a jerk. The book has shown me that I underestimated how smart he was, how strange he was, and how much of an ass he could be to people. You couldn't write a fiction novel of his life and have anyone believe it, but here it is in a biography.

I disagree personally. It was horribly written, poorly edited, factually wrong in many places, and failed to touch on the many of the really important aspects of Jobs' contributions to the industry. I found out after the fact that lots of columnists and industry bloggers agreed with me (not to say I'm right, just that I found out I wasn't alone in my feelings about the book)

[Russic]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

I disagree personally. It was horribly written, poorly edited, factually wrong in many places, and failed to touch on the many of the really important aspects of Jobs' contributions to the industry. I found out after the fact that lots of columnists and industry bloggers agreed with me (not to say I'm right, just that I found out I wasn't alone in my feelings about the book)

Is there ever going to be a Jobs biography that people would agree on? He's such a polarizing figure with scores of people that love him and hate him that it seems unlikely there will ever be something that everybody can agree on.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Russic

Is there ever going to be a Jobs biography that people would agree on? He's such a polarizing figure with scores of people that love him and hate him that it seems unlikely there will ever be something that everybody can agree on.

On one hand, there is the challenge of connecting with the person vs the industry persona and tycoon, and I respect that - you probably can't satisfy both the non-geek and geek crowds in the same book, and I can deal with that.

This quote from Gruber does a good job of encapsulating what I think was wrong with the bio though, which isn't focused on the geeky details:

Jobs understood technology but was not an engineer. He had profoundly exquisite taste but was not a designer. What it was that Jobs actually did is much of the mystery of his life and his work, and Isaacson, frustratingly, had seemingly little interest in that, or any recognition that there even was any sort of mystery as to just what Jobs’s gifts really were

Maybe Jobs wasn't forthcoming or wouldn't go to that level, but so many major events, decisions, and turning points in the Jobs narrative get glossed over that it's impossible to get anything other than a superficial feel for who the person really was. There's tons of who/what/when, but very little why or how.

Case in point, we hear over and over about him crying, but never once is the question posed to him about why he was crying. We are reminded over and over again about the LSD, but we never find out how that contributed to his life, if indeed it did.

The quality of the book itself is brutal too. That it was rushed to accommodate his passing is, I think, without doubt. Technical inaccuracies aside, it feels disjointed and you can distinctly tell where certain paragraphs were cut and pasted more than once into the narrative. You don't have to look any further than the fact that they already want to do a second edition to realize it was poorly edited and that many sections of the book need a re-write.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

On one hand, there is the challenge of connecting with the person vs the industry persona and tycoon, and I respect that - you probably can't satisfy both the non-geek and geek crowds in the same book, and I can deal with that.

This quote from Gruber does a good job of encapsulating what I think was wrong with the bio though, which isn't focused on the geeky details:


Maybe Jobs wasn't forthcoming or wouldn't go to that level, but so many major events, decisions, and turning points in the Jobs narrative get glossed over that it's impossible to get anything other than a superficial feel for who the person really was. There's tons of who/what/when, but very little why or how.

Case in point, we hear over and over about him crying, but never once is the question posed to him about why he was crying. We are reminded over and over again about the LSD, but we never find out how that contributed to his life, if indeed it did.

The quality of the book itself is brutal too. That it was rushed to accommodate his passing is, I think, without doubt. Technical inaccuracies aside, it feels disjointed and you can distinctly tell where certain paragraphs were cut and pasted more than once into the narrative. You don't have to look any further than the fact that they already want to do a second edition to realize it was poorly edited and that many sections of the book need a re-write.

Is is still worth reading with its flaws?

Wait for the 2nd edition maybe?

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Titan

Is is still worth reading with its flaws?

Wait for the 2nd edition maybe?

I think it's still worth reading, yes. If I'm critical, it's because I care

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Titan

Is is still worth reading with its flaws?

Wait for the 2nd edition maybe?

I'd still read it. As somebody who like Jobs it was quite an eye-opener to see him in a different light.

[QuadCityImages]

Despite my praise, I would agree that it feels like it was rushed to print. Which is understandable, since it was. It definitely makes me want to read iWoz.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

Despite my praise, I would agree that it feels like it was rushed to print. Which is understandable, since it was. It definitely makes me want to read iWoz.

iWoz was quite enjoyable (partially because he's much more likeable), and you get a good sense of what he's all about, and how exciting it was for him to be in the industry back then.

[fundmark19]

and apple crushes more sales records

37.04 Million iPhones, 15.43 million iPads, 5.2 million Macs 15.4 million iPods last quater

Fun fact apple sold 15 million iPads in all of 2010

[photon]

But their stock price is down

[chemgear]

Up 7% after hours?

[photon]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Up 7% after hours?

Whoah, didn't look after hours. That would be impressive yes.

[fundmark19]

7.78% to be exact

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

15.4 million iPods last quater
[/SIZE]

Which is like a 15 or 20% decline year over year I think? It's interesting how much market share the phone has stolen from the pod.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Which is like a 15 or 20% decline year over year I think? It's interesting how much market share the phone has stolen from the pod.

It makes total sense. Now that my wife and myself have Iphones we no longer touch our Ipods. I see no need to buy a new ipod ever

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

It makes total sense. Now that my wife and myself have Iphones we no longer touch our Ipods. I see no need to buy a new ipod ever

I have an iPod Nano watch!

[Russic]

I think the only reasons now to get an iPod would be:
- something very small for working out
- something for your kids that won't connect to the internet
- Insanely big music collection that you want with you (this need would decrease with iCloud though).

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Russic

I think the only reasons now to get an iPod would be:
- something very small for working out
- something for your kids that won't connect to the internet
- Insanely big music collection that you want with you (this need would decrease with iCloud though).

And also as the solid-state storage on the iPhones gets larger and cheaper. I still have my 80 gig iPod that can have everything on it, but it rarely gets used anymore.

I usually rely on a few playlists on my iPhone, but more and more I am listening to podcasts that are downloaded directly to it, as well as streaming radio. A separate iPod is just another thing to carry around.

And just think - it wasn't that long ago that I used to carry a phone, a PDA, and an iPod. Consolidating those into one in recent years is great.