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This is a problem that I’m having at the moment. When using iMessage it will sometimes show text message and then revert back to iMessage. Problem is that both of these types of messages are in different conversation threads, making it hard to keep a flow going.
Any readers out there have any suggestions?
Dragon® Dictate® for Mac® 2.5 allows users to enter text and control their Mac by voice instead of using a keyboard and mouse. Turn ideas into text at the speed of thought so you can communicate more freely and persuasively. Just say words and watch them appear on the computer screen. Tell your Mac what to do and it obeys your commands.
At the EssentialMac.co.uk we use Dragon Dictate as a matter of course when reviewing. Personally I find that it helps articulate thoughts and ideas without the confines of a keyboard.
For me I find it incredibly interesting that tablet makers are going to the screen sizes that Apple decided against as they don’t give a “great user experience”. I don’t think anyone will argue that the 10″ screen sized arena is dominated by the iPad2.
[pullquote_left]To be clear, the Kindle Fire is much less capable and versatile than the entry-level $499 iPad 2. It has a fraction of the apps, a smaller screen, much weaker battery life, a slower Web browser, half the internal storage and no cameras or microphone. It also has a rigid and somewhat frustrating user interface far less fluid than Apple’s.[/pullquote_left] Much like Apple carved the market out for themselves, Amazon is getting in on the act now with the Kindle fire but even with it’s $200 price point does price alone make this a better product? The Wall Street Journal think not. It’s an interesting device but why is no one wondering about the Silk browser potentially tracking your every moment. Didn’t BT try this with “phorm” a while back? Any ways take a look at the video for a top comparison.
Walt Mossberg gives a review where it doesn’t feel biased to want to hate the iPad but investigating technologies and see how it’s relevant against it’s competitor. Why does everything that get’s released in the tablet world have to be an iPad killer? Do reviewers not have the sense to compare Android against Android without giving the iPad a rib?
I suppose it’s part of the pc legacy where numbers and speed is what it’s all about rather than the experience and integration.
It seems that the age of speech recognition has been set alight by Siri. Vlingo might have been getting all the attention recently as an alternative but Dragon Apps have been around a lot longer but with reduced functionality. Dragon Dictation for Mac is a favourite app on the Mac for me right now so my ears pricked up when I came across Dragon Express.
Not having a chance to play with the app just yet it’s certainly shaping up to be an almost Siri like experience for the mac. Command’s such as
Continue reading → Nuance Dragon Express, an attempt to bring Siri to the Mac?
Take 2 iPhones from the same network, running the same iOS version put them side by side and see what the difference is in the battery life to see if the battery drain problem can be fixed. That’s what the chaps at ZDnet have tried to do.
Oddly 1 phone was fine whilst the other had the battery drain problem. So what happens if you backup the iPhone with the battery problem and restore it onto iPhone 2, the one without the battery problem. Interestingly the battery drain problem appears on the the phone with the restored iPhone 1 software on it. In effect the bug has made the jump from one phone to another.
What ZDnet didn’t say was if iPhone 1 (with the issue) didn’t have the issue when having the reverse applied (restoring iPhone 2 without the bug issue to iPhone 1)
So it’s good news on one front it;s a software issue NOT a hardware issue, well at least in this case.
Could it be that Steve Jobs was actually right? Adobe has always chewed up processing power on my Macbook and sucked the power out of the battery more than watching a dvd (right click on a flash video to reduce cpu and power consumption) and today we hear that Adobe will stop developing for Android and Rim’s playbook.
Continue reading → Adobe to discontinue Flash for Android and PlayBook
I was all prepared the other day to venture out into the world and do some blogging with the “Pad” and the bargain Xenta Mini Bluetooth Keyboard with iPad stand. That was until the very second I tried to use the bloody thing and instantly had buyers remorse for purchasing such a big pile of crap.
Continue reading → Review : Xenta Mini Bluetooth Keyboard with iPad stand
Sorry about that! Just recently we’ve had unprecedented traffic on the site and so in an attempt to solve this issue we went about setting up a content delivery network, a way to split the load of the site traffic over multiple systems. This however didn’t go quite to plan.
The iPhone 3gs for me still has a lot of shelf life left to offer. Whilst the PC and consumer world focuses on cores and ghz, the 3gs still does a great job at emailing, texting, phoning and web browsing and now it appears, running Siri.
Continue reading → Siri Runs on iPhone 3gs Just as well as it does on the iPhone 4s
In this little video you’ll see How to use an iPhone 4S with Siri to communicate to a Mac 512K.
Just recently I tried the Apple Card App (letter press) to send a last minute card to the other half. Along the way I found out that postage times are 5 – 15 working days and there’s no tracking or even an e-mail to say it’s on the way. You do get an invoice near to when it’s being delivered but still, like a lot of things Apple, it’s missing a few features but we still use it.
Well after a bit of waiting the card arrived and it’s not too bad if a little small. The card quality is very high and comes embossed not just cheap style printing on paper. Speaking of which the paper is high quality rag paper. Thankfully the other half knows what a gadget geek I am and with the added bonus she appreciated the nerdy way of going from iPhone to door. Even though I was (or Apple was) late getting the card, she was very impressed.
Continue reading → Apple’s Card App Compared To Hallmark and Others
It might be just a little late but Batman, Arkham Asylum has hit the mac store. This was one of my favourite games on the PC and hooked me in for hours so it’s nice to see it hit the Mac.
[pullquote_left]It’s a cracking game but why can’t we get it for the steam price of 9.99?[/pullquote_left]Priced at 27.99 (at the time of writing) the game comes in at 8.5gb in size so those with download caps might want to keep an eye on their limits. As one person in the comments points out you can get the same game for the PC for ONLY 9.99.
Continue reading → Batman Arkham Asylum Now Available On The App Store
Opera has long since replaced my browser of choice on my iPad and iPhone just due to it;s user interface working with me instead of against me.
There are tweaks ahoy including better compression , share articles by email and now predictive text has been added as well. Another notable feature is the data counter (accessed by going to help, data counter) to show you just how much you are saving.
I’d argue that for internet savings when on the internet Opera is 1000% times better than Onavo (reviewed here) not only compression wise but for the fact you get to keep your soul away from the marketers and data miners.
Continue reading → Opera for iPhone and iPad updated. Now includes data counter
The New York Times has published Mona Simpson’s eulogy for her brother, Steve Jobs. Simpson delivered her eulogy during his memorial service on October 16 at the Memorial Church of Stanford University. In her remarks, she recalls her experience of his final days and hours, including his last words to his family.
Continue reading → Mona Simpson’s moving eulogy for her brother, Steve Jobs
Its easy to overlook the first announcement of the recent Apple fest, Cards for iPhone and Ipad. I had completely forgotten about it until I realised I’d failed to get a card for “the other half”.