Tag Archives: apple

Apple Watch 7: On being Quantified

Back in 2013 I began paying attention to my health metrics a bit when I started wearing a Fitbit Flex. I found I enjoyed ‘keeping track’ of basic data and I upgraded that to a Fitbit Charge HR in 2015 to add my heart rate to what I was collecting. None of this particularly encouraged me to ‘improve’ my health, but at least I was able to keep an eye on some basics. Along the way I started looking at the Apple Watch, but the Fitbit was working well enough for my purpose so I held off.

I started to notice some hiccups with my Charge HR this year: the battery wasn’t holding its charge very well, and there were some cracks appearing in the display. Nothing serious- it was still working fine. But I decided I’d take this as an opportunity to upgrade to the ‘next’ version of the Apple Watch. Apple shipped the Apple Watch 7 on October 15, and I got mine delivered on October 22. Now I’m drowning in data: my first impressions follow.

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How the iPad changed my life…

I received my iPad directly from Apple in early June and have been living with it since.  I mean that phrase more completely than is usual with something of a technical nature: this device really has become part of my life, far more quickly and completely than I expected.  The iPad is more than the sum of its parts: not exactly “magical”, but truly something new that goes beyond the mere technical details that describe it.  And yet not all is well in this wondrous future into which this little booklet-sized computer has ushered me.


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I will be buying an iPad… but why?

Apple ended months (for some people years) of speculation today by finally announcing the upcoming release of a tablet computer, the iPad. Like pretty much everything Apple releases, there is an overwhelming amount of hype surrounding the device, and many “true believers” are disappointed by what the device offers.

Even so, I plan on buying one when it becomes available. I thought it would be appropriate to explain my rational on the theory that my friends and family may doubt my sanity more than usual as a result.

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Apple really likes those adjectives…


I found this on Gizmodo today, and when I watched the video I couldn’t help laughing out loud…

It is really awesomely incredibly great and unbelievable!

The video is extracted from the most recent (September 9th) Apple event, which was focussed on what I can only describe as a completely boring list of iPod announcements. There was nothing released that was “gee-whiz” like the iPhone, just minor incremental updates to existing product lines. Yet as is evidenced by this video, the Apple team worked hard to make it seem like they were revolutionizing the entire world.

I have to wonder how carefully the Apple folks craft and coach these kinds of over-the-top exuberant love-fests. I can’t imagine that this happens “naturally” or by accident. And it explains why the comparatively subdued presentations given by other companies seem so dour and boring in comparison.

A few months without Steve is a good thing…

One of the big news items during the past week has been the fact that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, is taking a medical leave of absence for several months. The media has been frothing at the mouth over this: speculation regarding the death of Apple in the absence of this one man, guesses regarding the nature of Mr. Jobs’ illness, and even retrospectives of the man’s life as if he is already dead. Frankly, it is too much, and I personally think everyone, the media, the investors, and the public, should be ashamed. I also think that Steve’s leave will be a good thing for him and for the company itself.

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i-Phone: second coming of Jesus?

All the cool people in the world use Macintoshes.  If you use something other than a Macintosh you are, by definition, not cool.  It goes without saying that the only real innovation that takes place in the world takes place on a Macintosh, and the greatest innovations that occur on Macintoshes occur within the Holy Shrine itself: Apple.

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