Y2HH

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 12:17 PM) It cant' be purdier than Pulse News. Well...it is...by far.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 11:19 AM) Anyone with a tablet - the Pulse News App is f***ing awesome. Flipboard is better...cause it's purdier.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 09:10 AM) ^this is why it's funny to see Apple fail occasionally, the view that they're just the best^ Being the best in some peoples opinions dones't make them "the best" in everyones. And being the best also doesn't mean system components won't fail from time to time, or that software won't be buggy. Even though flaws exist, something can still be considered "the best". You have an odd way of looking at things.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 03:20 AM) The joke was that seeing as GarageBand was included and Final Cut only set me back $100 (student discounts are awesome), they are the two programs I use that I couldn't use a PC for, so that extra $1500 was getting the Mac to be able to use them. f*** spending $1500 on two pieces of software. I have no idea what you're talking about here... Are you saying you spent an additional 1500$ on Final Cut and Garage Band? That's called purchasing software. You then said: The extra money was getting the Mac to be able to use them? What does that even mean? Getting the Mac to use them? It doesn't cost anything extra to "get a mac to use software"...you're merely purchasing the software, whether it be Final Cut or Adobe's alternatives...graphics and video software is expensive regardless of who you buy it from, for the Mac or the PC. If you want a good example of jamming awesome technology into a shoddily designed box, look no further than the Droid Razr Maxx. Designed like a monstrous piece of s***, full of energy sucking chips simply because they're "new" but immature...and covered up with a massive 3300mah battery in order to make it look like it has great battery life... At least Samsung understands that big can still be beautiful -- and efficient -- look at the SIII, for example.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 01:43 AM) You said it yourself. Laptops are glorified typewriters. So why spend at least $1000 on one when you can buy one that is equally good in terms of specs, if not better, for $700 or less? Because it's about more than system specs? Show me a 700$ laptop that's designed as well as a MacBook Air in terms of weight/speed/battery life. Good luck with that. This is the age old Apples to Non-Apples comparison, you see this leak over into most Android vs iPhone conversations, too. It's NOT all about specs. Anyone can take the latest and greatest components and jam them into a shoddily designed box, ignoring weight, etc...and covering it's super-duper performance with a 1lb battery. It's overall design that matters, and this is ALWAYS ignored by people who compare them. You will almost never get the top of the line spec with Apple...something faster/newer will no doubt exist...but what you won't get is the engineering that went into that design.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 27, 2012 -> 08:28 AM) You must have some crappy PC's if they're unreliable. Not really...if you buy pre-built, like Dell, etc...they're usually fast, but designed like crap...and often the sub-components are sub-par in terms of quality. You'll get a fantastic processor/gfx card, and a crap wifi chip, system board, power supply, etc...

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 26, 2012 -> 05:50 PM) For once, Google plays Apple's anti-competitive game. Where were you when Apple decided to cripple third party browsers of core iOS features on purpose so that Safari would have superior performance? You sure didn't tell Apple to go f*** themselves. Actually I did. I've said a few times that this is one of the major drawbacks to Apples closed approach. It has its advantages, however, but you have to deal with this type of disadvantage if you don't want to root/jailbreak. I don't agree with artificially gimping competitors software, but I deal with it because iOS is my current choice of platform, and if/when I find the benefits are outweighed by this sort of drawback, I will move on. I've done it before, I'm sure I'll do it again. I use chrome on all of my desktops, I'd much rather use it on iOS, too. And I love how you say "for once" Google plays the anti-competitive game. That is so laughable I'm not sure whether to take you seriously, or tell you to go do some reading before repeating that nonsense again. Google plays the anti-competitive game with the best of them, don't be fooled. Some reading: http://bit.ly/P6YHHr Oh, and don't take this as me exonerating Apple for much of the same sort of nonsense...but the fact is, they all do it. Google is just especially annoying about it because they love to pretend they don't.

John Paczkowski of All Things Digital, citing multiple sources had this to say about the Maps hoopla: "Requiring iPhone users to look directly at handsets for directions and manually move through each step — while Android users enjoyed native voice-guided instructions — put Apple at a clear disadvantage in the mobile space," Paczkowski wrote. "And having chosen Google as its original mapping partner, the iPhone maker was now in a position where an archrival was calling the shots on functionality important to the iOS maps feature set." Sources reportedly said that Apple "pushed Google hard" to bring turn-by-turn navigations to iOS. However, Google viewed the capability as a "key feature" of its own Android platform, and decided to keep the functionality exclusive to Android handsets. While Apple wanted voice-guided navigation in its iOS Maps application, Google wanted in-app branding and the addition of its Google Latitude service to the built-in iOS mapping service. Apple reportedly refused to concede either of those to the search company. ----- While I love some of their products, Google can go f*** themselves.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 26, 2012 -> 10:29 AM) Yes but that was the native google maps app in Android which has turn by turn directions. I've learned in this thread that the google app on iOS was pretty lame. If it was the same App you have, I'd probably care more...it's what you had about 3 years ago.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 26, 2012 -> 04:57 AM) It's an inferior product right now, and it's funny to see the industry leader stumble sometimes. Especially when there's a huge cult of personality (brand?) around them. The industry leader in what? Android has a FAR larger marketshare, albeit split up amongst a bunch of different handset makers. I pretty clearly explained the situation Apple was in when it came to Google Maps, if anyone bothered to read it. They had to do something, and this is that something. Of course it wasn't going to be *as good* as Googles offering at launch...but it will get better. This is just knee jerk reaction to change, I see it all the time. Wait until you guys see/use Windows 8...if you want a user shock, it's nothing like Windows 7, or anything before it. It's like a touch screen interface on a desktop without a touchscreen...if you want to talk about a rushed/poorly thought out product for the desktop, it's Windows 8. It will work great on touch screens, though. This is just another instance of Microsoft knowing they had to do something drastic, before the industry passed them by...it's going to shock their users at first, but as they always do, they'll get over it and move on. I'm not exactly sure what's been going on with Google Maps, but it's not just Apple that's become weary of doing business with them in relation to this product. Amazon uses a fork of Android on it's kindles/tablets, and even Amazon is jettisoning Google Maps and going with Nokia Maps -- http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2012/09/17/no...maps-geocoding/ Why would Amazon dump a product that's basically coded into Android? Something is going on with the way Google is doing business with Maps, and it's not just Apple that didn't like it. Keep in mind, Apple didn't just walk away from Google Maps...they walked away with a year left on their contract, meaning Google gets a years worth of licensing fees from Apple for a product they aren't even using anymore.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 06:31 PM) I don't know, my directions so far have been pretty bad. ...and so far mine have been flawless. That doesn't mean they are for everyone...there are obvious mistakes, some of them glaringly shown on the internet this past week. But that also doesn't mean they're broken for everyone/every search, either. A friend of mine reported an error on the Apple maps for a place he was at earlier today, but it was the first he's run into. I have yet to personally find one...but I'm sure I will given enough time. What I'm not trying to do is defend Apple new maps app as flawless...it's not. I'm also not trying to say it's as good as Googles offering. But I am trying to be fair minded and say that the issues are overblown, because...well...they are. I see a LOT of unfair "journalism" going on here, and it bothers me. It also bothers me that it seems impossible to have a legitimate conversation between Apple users and Android users when it comes to this, with half the Apple users never having used an Android device, and visa versa (no, I'm not counting that one time you used a friends for 5 minutes, either).

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 05:34 PM) That's the funny thing, it does still work, just as s***ty as the last map app. Whoever uses that functionality as deep as the complaints are going must be outside of my scope. While I wouldn't go so far as to claim the previous app Apple used in iOS for mapping is "as bad" as the current version 1 attempt, it was a gimped version of the mapping app Google made for its own Android OS. Google had issues with how Apple wanted to implement their advanced APIs and began asking for additional money for every feature in Google maps, for example, you can have maps for x, but if you want streetview, the cost becomes y...turn by turn? Make that z. The writing was on the wall and Apple knew, business wise, it was painting itself into a corner, particularly troubling on that they were using a direct competitors product, and that competitor kept changing the rules of use. Apple had to get out, and most people within reason would realize that. Note that Microsoft went with Nokia for maps (obviously), but far less obviously was that Amazon did, too...and Amazon uses Android. That should tell you something about doing business with Google when it comes to maps.

Google Chrome version 22.0.1229.79 is out! Go get it!

Just to show that nobodies perfect...including the great and powerful Google... Directions from St. Germain WI to the nearby Crystal Lake as according to Google Maps... http://goo.gl/maps/IpzPL (which leads you miles and miles out of your way into the middle of a back country road, devoid of any lakes...or people) ...and the actual directions... http://goo.gl/maps/Tlmtj ...bringing you to the lake Jason Vorhees slayed, maimed, beheaded, and/or outright killed camp consolers for decades. The funniest part of this has to be that their map has the name 'Crystal Lake' written right inside of the lake, yet if you ask it for directions there, you end up in the middle of nowhere. I've sent in proper coordinates/fixes to Google a few times, they've notified me it's been fixed. It hasn't. Maybe they should send one of their minimum wage making college kids to actually drive it and they'd believe me.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 04:41 PM) It's also why those screen protectors were invented, if you're afraid of scratching your phone you spend the $5 on them. The screen doesn't scratch very easily, the casing does (it's external shell, same as in the HTC example). People apparently manhandle their phones, because I've never used a case on any phone I've ever owned and it was never scratched to hell, regardless of what it was made out of.

QUOTE (flippedoutpunk @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 04:36 PM) Is this one of the new features? Wah, wah, wahhhhh....

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 04:27 PM) Who's you trust directions from? A driver who's driven to the place you're headed to an validated the route or an airline pilot who flew over the city? Both? It's not like your taking the pilots word for it, they take detailed pictures. Are you actually interested in a real discussion about this, or are you just trying to be a media bandwagon hopping 'fandroid' and dismiss a product you haven't used? Unlike most people here talking about a product they've never used and merely regurgitating what they've read elsewhere -- I have used it, extensively over the past 6 months -- as I have Google maps, on both iOS and Android (of which the Android application is 1000x better). You do realize Google maps has been wrote quite often -- and I can actually point to one right now, quite easily -- that they never bothered fixing despite the fact that I've reported it to them multiple times.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 04:26 PM) Apple Insider? Are these proganada articles written by Apple's marketing team? No, it actually points to its deficiencies, etc...it's a pretty good read.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/25/...apples_new_maps This is a long but well written, and fair minded article on what's wrong about Apple maps, and what it's still undiscovered strengths are.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 04:24 PM) What better way to prove that a road exists or how to effectively guide someone through an area? An airplane flyover?

http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/25/...raised_in_china Looks like Apple maps rock the house in China.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 04:18 PM) Dude there are not 7100 doing coding for google maps, if there was that would be a tremendous waste of resources. Google puts a lot more emphasis on things like google apps, and I know this first hand. Google like every other company we are mentioning gets their maps and map data from a third party company they partner with. And I personally think its hilarious people think a mapping application is an arms race. I bet navteq er Nokia is out there shaking in their boots too. Google has about 1200 1100 or so ACTUAL map employees, the rest are contractors. And like I said previously, who knows how often those contractors work, or how many hours...most of them drive around in streetcars. The 7100 figure is a stretch of reality...but to be fair, do they have 7100 employees working on maps? Sure. 7100 full time employees? No.

QUOTE (flippedoutpunk @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 03:57 PM) #scratchgate http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/25/apple-svp...aims-via-email/ These "gates" are often made up or just downright stupid...like this one, and nothing more than click fodder for some ad money. Anyone that has ever owned an iPad, or Mac, or even the original iPhone has had experience with their aluminum shells. They scratch relatively easy, and they always have. Specifically, the black iPhone 5, because when scratched, it is silver underneath the anodized black coating, making it easy to see...but this has always been one of the drawbacks of aluminum cased electronics, regardless of who makes them. HTC was the first to discover this issue: http://www.connect-utb.com/2012/04/potenti...-the-htc-one-s/ Only almost nobody cared, because it was HTC, not Apple...so there was no "gate".

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 01:57 PM) Tomtom only does GPS and mapping, Googlr does WAY more and actually generates revenue from those other business units. Second, the "google" map Pre-ios6 sucked balls anyway, not sure why everyone is making a big deal out of it unless you are pushing android simply for mapping. Anyone who used their phone for GPS didn't use the map function and google will have an iPhone app shortly just like YouTube. This is such a non-issue its hilarious to me. Google as a company doesn't care this much about maps. I get the feeling a lot of Android users assume the maps application Google had on iOS was the same one they have on Android, when it was basically maps.google.com in an app, with limited functionality and no turn by turn.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 25, 2012 -> 09:52 AM) That means nothing at all unless people aren't buying the product because of it. At the end of the day, that is all Apple really cares about. If Apple made repeated missteps such as this, people would take notice and perhaps then, it would affect their bottom line. I think that's his point. On a side note, this is being blown out of proportion by the media and namely, Fandroids. Even Steve Wozniak mentioned that while the Maps app isn't good, it's not nearly as bad as the media is making it look right now, especially in light of the many alternatives. And that guy is about as fair minded as anyone when it comes to gadgets/software.