Author: Bob Martens

Categories
Technology

Messaging and Apple

While I’m not sure if it is an apples-to-apples comparisons, it is interesting to note nonetheless when considering iMessage and other messaging platforms like WhatsApp.

Today at its shareholder meeting, Apple released some numbers around iMessage and FaceTime calls (thanks MacRumors):

  • 40,000,000,000 iMessages/day
  • 15,000,000 – 20,000,000 FaceTime calls/day

That’s pretty incredible when the last time they released numbers was January 2013 and they were only processing 2,000,000,000 iMessages/day then.

Compared to WhatsApp’s 50,000,000,000 messages/day, Apple is a little under that but they ride on ahead when you toss in the FaceTime calls as well. It will be interesting to see what the numbers are next year, even though I can’t see them somehow increasing that number 20x again (just the law of large numbers at play there).

Messaging is the big buzz right now in some circles of the technology industry and it is interesting to see how well Apple is doing with their entry on a single, Apple-only platform.

Update: Thanks to Colin Harrington for finding my bad numbers. They have now been updated.

Categories
Life Technology

Opportunity vs. Outcome

I posted You Need a Person earlier and it focused on Steve Jobs’ thoughts on education and technology. In that same interview there was an even shorter line from Mr. Jobs that stuck in my mind as well.

I’m a very big believer in equal opportunity as opposed to equal outcome. I don’t believe in equal outcome ’cause, unfortunately, life’s not like that and it’d be a pretty boring place if it was.

I’m pretty sure everyone knew that Steve believed in meritocracy, and this is another example of him outlining that worldview. I think, though, it belies an even greater truth that I am trying to parse out in my own mind.

When we talk about equality we need to understand that in this world, things are never going to be equal for everyone when it comes to outcome. That is a road to lowered bars and stifling the individuality of everyone. When we all need to have the same outcomes, we’re all going to end up being the same.

That would be a dreadfully boring place.

You can watch the section of the interview on YouTube. The whole thing is pretty good but you’ll need to set aside a good amount of time to watch it.

Categories
Technology

You Need a Person

I really like watching old interviews and videos of Steve Jobs. If I have a few spare minutes before my next appointment I’ll queue up some of his older stuff, or maybe the iPhone launch, and watch him “perform” while on stage just for the heck of it.

I don’t worship the man and I’ve heard many cases of the parts of his personality that I would definitely not admire, but it is fun to watch him because he seems unique in the world of public-facing executives.

Here is a quote about education from an interview done before he joined Apple again in the mid-90s. The interviewer has been asking him about his thoughts on education and he had this to say about technology in education (what is the most important thing):

As you’ve pointed out I’ve probably helped put more computers into more schools than anybody else up until this point in time and I’m absolutely convinced that that is, by no means, the most important thing. The most important thing is another person.

That’s the best transcription I can come up with and I agree with it whole heartedly. We are in the middle of everyone and their landlord talking about how technology is going to change your classroom, make your kids better learners, help improve test scores, and any list of other things … and it is all snake oil. The fundamentals of education haven’t changed and they never will and unless we keep that as the foremost idea in our minds, every single technology initiative is going to fall flat on its face because it cannot, by itself, do anything of any value.

Technology apart from people is fundamentally dead and may even be detrimental.

You can find the interview on YouTube and I’ve linked to the quote so you don’t have to hunt for it. I’ll pull out another quote from that same interview in another post.

Categories
Review

Review | The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

A Link Between Worlds

I don’t have a lot of time to play video games anymore. I’m giving that as an excuse for the fact that it has taken me so long to complete the game (it sat in its plastic wrap for months before I broke it out).

Please do not let it deter you from picking it up and completing it if you have no already done so. Quite simple, A Link Between Worlds is a joy to play and harkens back to a much simpler time for both video games and the entire Zelda series. It’s hard to describe how fun the game was the play, but I’ll do my best.

Also, you can listen to the second part of This One Podcast Episode 103 where Phil and I talk about A Link Between Worlds in a larger context.

I will also try to keep spoilers to a minimum and focus more on the overall gameplay and game since that is the important part.

Comfortable to Play

The first thing anyone who has ever played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past will notice is how comfortable this game is. It is immediately familiar, but not dull or boring as it would have been had it been a remake of the original. It is set in the same world, but it is still a new game.

I would liken it more to the difference between Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. They are obviously tied together, but they are entirely separate games.

In the TOP episode I linked to above, Phil and I discuss our own personal preference for simpler games (which is a terrible way to describe them). For me it boils down to needing to make fewer decisions at a given time. When you only have four buttons and two dimensions … your mind can focus on and enjoy other things.

The game flows much like A Link to the Past and that is to its benefit. There are no obscenely long tutorials here, just encouragement to get going and start saving the world. The cut scenes are sparse and tasteful which means there are few minutes-long forays into story telling. I think I counted three in total.

A Link Between Worlds is a game you can easily settle into a groove with. You’ll flow from area to area, instinctively knowing what it is that you need to try to accomplish and then going forth and doing so. The game also, quite quickly, eliminates the tedium of moving from place to place as well so that you don’t feel like you need to backtrack over terrain over, and over, and over, and over again …

Button-Mashing Goodness

There are obviously times when you will need to be careful and take steps to make sure every swing of your sword is going to count … but when you only have a single button dedicated to the sword it enables button-mashing to come back into full effect.

It is haphazard in any way, but it is the viable defense and offense. It is a simple way to clear yourself of obstacles … and it is enabled because the game designers were limited in what they could do with a single button and two dimensions.

I say: good.

This speeds things up considerably. Need to get from A to B and enemies are in the way … start swinging and don’t let up until they are gone. It allows the game to flow from place to place quickly.

Again, I say: good.

Music for the Mood

This is a short review, but I do want to comment on the music. Obviously A Link to the Past has many iconic tunes that are still with us and the soundtrack for A Link Between Worlds is not going to reach that stage. It is not because it shouldn’t, but because it is more derivative than A Link to the Past. Because it is a direct sequel, the music is instantly familiar.

However, the arrangements done are excellent and of an extremely high caliper. Especially near the end of the game, we get to see them pull out the stops and fit the music to the mood extremely well. Just a splendid melding of tone.

There isn’t much more to say besides the fact that I still smile every time I hear any arrangement of the Overworld theme.

The End

This game is good, excellent, and well worth any amount of time or effort you can put into it. It not only puts aside any fear I had about Nintendo coming into it, but it also emphatically states that there is a lot of life left in 2D games.

A Link Between Worlds definitely calls back to a time when games needed to be simpler because they had less to work with, and I think that is a good thing. Tacking on decisions and extra fluff just because you can is a poor reason to do so.

End Screen

Verdict

Purchase a 2DS or 3DS and play this game TODAY!

Categories
Technology

Thoughts on iPad Air

I’ve had my iPad Air for almost a week and I do have some thoughts on the overall experience so far:

  • Maybe the greatest “win” so far is the A7. Everything is so much smoother and you definitely get a feeling that then A7 is a big step up from the silicon Apple as putting out before. So nice.
  • I was balking at picking up a full size iPad again! but I am happy that I did. So far I’ve already used the iPad Air in some situations I would have never dreamed of using my iPad mini (mainly focused around typing on the onscreen keyboard).
  • If you are looking for a case to use with the iPad Air, I recommend one with a four-fold cover. It allows you to putt he cover behind and still use it with one hand and also just fir with the larger iPad better. I’ve had a three-fold and a four-fold case to try, and I will be keeping the four-fold case for certain. This also means I will not pick up one of the Apple cases.
  • I finally attached this iPad to our AT&T Mobile Share plan so now it will be interesting to see if it changes where I work since I will have LTE connectivity wherever I go even without tethering. Mobile Share makes it almost a no-brainer to have a cellular iPad.
  • My initial thoughts in iOS still hold true. I seriously consider those people touting an “iPad Pro” or “iOS Pro” to be maybe the greatest threat to making iOS better. Let iOS be iOS and OS X be OS X. Keep sharing but keep them separate.

I’m excited because I’ve eliminated another hinge from my computing experience … it also makes that Mac Pro just a little bit more justifiable.

Alright, I’m half-kidding in that last part.