The Death Knell of IE6

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Microsoft:

Everyone benefits from an up-to-date browser.

Today we are sharing our plan to automatically upgrade Windows customers to the latest version of Internet Explorer available for their PC. This is an important step in helping to move the Web forward.

[…]

The Web overall is better – and safer – when more people run the most up-to-date browser. Our goal is to make sure that Windows customers have the most up-to-date and safest browsing experience possible, with the best protections against malicious software such as malware.

I cannot tell you how great of a move this is on Microsoft’s part. IE6 is the bane of the Internet, and I know so many people who use it because they don’t know there have been three new versions since. IE9 isn’t fully standards-compliant, but it is a great step in the right direction. And IE10 looks promising.

Chrome auto-updates, Firefox is going there. Apple already pushes new versions of Safari via Software Update, though the user must still choose to install it. For the fast pace of the Internet, auto-updating is the right thing to do for home users (my only gripe is the user is often not told what is new).

It seems Microsoft finally took notice they were shipping a terrible browser, and ever since they have been on the frontline to kill the zombie that is IE6.

[via Zeldman]

Quote of the Day | Marco Arment

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Marco Arment on the “fanboy” slur often slung at Apple owners:

Apple’s customers often get accused of unconditional devotion to the company’s products. But the accusers often have an equally irrational aversion: they blindly and universally won’t buy Apple products. People can buy (or not buy) whatever they want, but if a few hundred million people think Apple’s products are good and fit their needs, and a handful of tech bloggers loudly refuse to buy them even if they have similar needs, which side looks like the irrational one?

Explore Apple's Grand Central Retail Store

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Apple's page for its brand new store in Grand Central Station has a neat trick for owners of the iPhone 4/4S, 4th Generation iPod touch, and iPad 2. Tap View More Photos then tap the one labeled 360. You can then move your device around in front of you and look around the store. I found it works best on the iPad 2.

¶ Fly

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When it comes to using an app or service on multiple devices, consistency is key. This is one of the reasons I love Apple’s Mail app, as the majority of the experience is now the same on the Mac, iPad, & iPhone.

Something I use as much as — if not more than — email is Twitter. I have long shied away from Twitter’s official experience, because it is completely fractured. The iPhone app is nothing like the iPad app, neither are like the Mac app and the web is also different. It’s a whole new ball game every time you switch to a different device. Instead, I have favored Twitterrific, which offers the same Twitter experience across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Twitter seems to be taking a hint and has begun to roll out an attempt at a more unified experience with Fly. They have updated the iPhone and Android apps to a unified interface, and the web interface is slowly rolling out to users over the next couple weeks.

The experience is divided amongst four tabs — Home, Connect, Discover, and Me.

Home houses the timeline, where you can read tweets, view photos & videos, and follow links.

Connect takes over housing Mentions, and also pools together what Twitter is calling Interactions. Interactions shows the actions other people take related to you and your tweets, such as new followers, retweets, favorites, or list additions. Connect also integrates search for @usernames.

Discover aggregates stories, trends, and popular hashtags. It also attempts to offer stories that it thinks you’ll be interested, based on what you tweet about, where you’re located, and who you follow.

Me is the new profile section. If you’re looking for your direct messages, this is where they have been buried. This is also where you can switch accounts. A couple tips I saw regarding the Me tab on touchscreen devices:

  • Swipe up on the tab to immediately go to DMs.
  • Swipe left on the tab to immediately go to the account switcher.

I’m all for Twitter trying to get their experience on the same page. I think it is a misstep to de-emphasize DMs in favor of trends and stories (I have heard some folks say they have seen ads in the discover tab, as well).

A couple refinements I rather like so far are the feather quill in the Compose button (let’s face it, it’s cute) and the Tweet Button for websites (you can see it at the bottom of this post) has been refined and looks much better.

It will be interesting to see how the iPad and Mac apps will change. TweetDeck, a recent Twitter acquisition was also updated today with the new look and feel (and also available on the Mac App Store).

I look forward to seeing how the more unified experience pans out over the next few months. But if you ask me, I think all the innovation still resides with third-parties like Twitterrific and Tweetbot.

¶ It's All in the Family

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I really enjoy my iPhone. A lot. I’ve owned the iPhone 3G, and an iPhone 4 (two of those if you count my wife’s). When buying both iPhones over a couple years, AT&T was the only outfit selling them. It wasn’t until about 9 months ago when we in the US had options for carriers when it came to the iPhone.

AT&T has been fairly decent as far as I’m concerned. I live in the Midwest, in a city of about a quarter-million people, covered by AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. There isn’t much in the way of congestion on any one carrier. Sure, there’s a couple dead spots, but every carrier has their weaknesses. I know for a fact that Verizon isn’t fantastic in my apartment building. I have no issues with AT&T because there is a tower just down the road.

To be honest, though, if I would have had a choice in 2008, I probably would not have gone with AT&T as a carrier. They didn’t have enough coverage to the places I travel to (this was fixed in early 2011, when they dramatically expanded coverage in the upper Midwest).

Now, with Verizon and Sprint being legitimate options, I’m not 100% sure I’ll stick with AT&T when my contract is up next year. Like I said, I don’t have a bone to pick with AT&T, I receive the service I expect, and whenever I have had an issue, their support has been fantastic and kind. But that doesn’t mean I couldn’t be wooed away by another carrier. For me, the iPhone is all that matters.

For instance, The Verge reports Verizon will be offering family data plans in 2012. I use data far more than voice minutes. My wife & I share voice minutes, why not data? AT&T offers two tiers for data, 200 MB and 2 GB. My wife, being at home on Wi-Fi most of the time, has the former, and I have the latter. Honestly, if there were a 500 MB plan, I could easily fit into that. My usage is around 400 MB every month. My wife, on the other hand, toes the line of 200 MB often. She hardly uses her iPhone when Wi-Fi isn’t available for fear of going over her allotted data.

That sucks. Customers shouldn’t have to experience any sort of fear in a service they pay for. It would be far better if my wife & I could share that 2 GB plan. I’d wager the two of us would hardly touch 1 GB in a month. My wife wouldn’t have to forego actually using her iPhone the way she wants when away from home.

I’ve noticed Verizon and AT&T tend to do the cat & mouse game quite often. One does something, the other follows suit. AT&T has until June 2012 to offer family data, or they may lose my account.

¶ Kindle Touch | Review

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There’s a saying that goes something like “in order to be a good writer you need to be a reader”. I love to write, and before college I was an avid reader. Throughout college, I read a lot more, but only educationally, not recreationally. And then, a couple years ago, I started dipping my toe back into reading for fun when my folks gave me a Kindle 2.

As I began to become a reader again, I noticed something about my reading preferences — I really prefer a device like a Kindle over a paper book. Here’s why:

  1. Books can be awkward to hold, especially hardcovers.
  2. Books can be super portable, or they can feel like a brick. And that changes with each book.
  3. Pages rip. I have a knack for doing that for some reason.
  4. Sometimes books, especially library books, smell a bit like mold. Which I’m allergic to.
  5. Books take up a lot of space. My wife and I have two large and two small bookcases to hold our books.

Needless to say, I really liked my Kindle 2. I also admired its vision. From my write-up of the Kindle 2 a couple years ago:

In the “Welcome to Kindle” letter on the device when I turned it on initially, CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos said that one of Kindle’s goals was to get out of the way and let you experience a book.

I still believe the Kindle 2 did the best it could to strive for that goal, but it fell short.

  1. The frame was a distracting white.
  2. I often inadvertently hit the next page button prematurely.
  3. Following that, I always had to remember the previous page button existed only on the left side, and that on the right side — where I am usually holding the Kindle — has a Home button in the corresponding area. Hence I often went Home when I was just wanting to go back a page.
  4. The keyboard was wasted space for something that gets used so little when reading.
  5. Although the metal back felt sturdy, the plastic on the front felt cheap and flimsy.

I really think my largest gripe was the keyboard. It took up a third of the length of the device. Really, the only time the keyboard is used is to search for new books, which I only did for about two minutes each month (I’m not the swiftest reader).

There was a lot to improve on. Which Amazon aimed to do with the Kindle Keyboard (née Kindle 3). The device became lighter, smaller, and the plastic color was changed to a dark gray (thought Amazon did make white models, they did not really promote them).

I played with a friend’s Kindle 3 a few times, and admired its Pearl E Ink display, which was leaps and bounds better than the Kindle 2’s display. But it still had that keyboard, and the page turning buttons felt even flimsier than the Kindle 2’s.

Enter the Kindle Touch. The Kindle Touch embraces everything I love about the Kindle and does away with everything I disliked about the Kindle 2.

Hardware

The Kindle Touch is tiny. The E Ink screen is the same size as that of the Kindle 2 & 3, but the bezel around it is only large enough to give you a comfortable place to rest a thumb. No more, no less. Speaking of the bezel, it — and the rest of the Kindle Touch — is a gunmetal gray. It seems about perfect for nearly any reading environment.

Though the Kindle Touch’s body is entirely plastic, it is well constructed. There isn’t a single part that really feels like cheap plastic. Feeling around there are no signs of give, flimsiness, or squeaking. The build is solid, and the lack of a metal back makes the device feel light as a feather.

The Pearl E Ink screen is beautiful. The contrast is a night and day difference from the Kindle 2. Also, I was worried that with the Kindle Touch being, well, touch-based it would suffer from severe fingerprint grime. I’m pleased to say that whatever Amazon coated the screen with wards off fingerprints completely. I have yet to notice one.

There are only two buttons on the device — a home button in the center of the bottom bezel and a sleep/wake button located near the center of the bottom edge of the device. I’ve read other reviews that were less than thrilled with the sleep/wake button, saying it is accidentally triggered often. It is a precarious spot to put such a button, but I haven’t had issue with it. I haven’t once accentually triggered it, even while resting that edge on my chest when reading in bed. I do think Amazon could make one of three improvements to it, one via software update, two as refinements to future models:

  1. Instead of the button activating by a slight press, as it does now, adjust the activation to require holding the button for a few seconds.
  2. Make it a sliding switch, like the Kindle 2 had, or…
  3. Move it to the top of the device.

Touchscreen

Even though the Kindle Touch is a “touchscreen”, it isn’t the type of touchscreen we have come to know and love à la the iPhone and iPad. This is still very much an E Ink screen, meaning it refreshes slowly. In fact, the screen itself is not touch sensitive. The bezel is about a millimeter deeper than the non-touch Kindle, and that millimeter holds a thin infrared transmitter/receiver that puts an invisible grid just above the screen.

The touch event happens when your finger interrupts the grid. The software then translates the interrupted grid sectors to a location on the screen and accepts it as input. Pretty snazzy.

(I should also point out it isn’t just fingers that can trigger touch events. Anything that can interrupt that grid will do the trick — such as a lock of long hair or a towel brushing it. That could be frustrating at the gym if you aren’t careful).

You do need to exercise a little patience when navigating. Tap, wait, then you will see the screen refresh with the action. E Ink is still pretty slow compared to LCD touchscreens. That said, getting around on the Kindle Touch is far easier and less frustrating that using that five-way navigator on non-touch Kindles.

The keyboard is now part of the touchscreen. You can reliably tap out words as fast as you want. The E Ink screen will lag in showing you what you have typed for a few seconds, but the IR grid software doesn’t miss a beat. I haven’t had a typing error even when tapping out a search at my normal touchscreen typing speed. I certainly didn’t expect the keyboard to perform as well as it does. In fact, I really think it is faster than pecking stuff out on the Kindle 2.

Pagination is accomplished through Amazon’s EasyReach system. The screen is divided into three sections. The top quarter of the screen is reserved for accessing the menu. The remainder of the screen is divided into two unequal sections. The larger section on the right — about four-fifths of the screen — is for advancing to the next page. The slim left section goes to the previous page. Honestly, much simpler than the flimsy side buttons. The next page section, which will be tapped the most, is easily accessible with either thumb when reading. I tend to hold the Kindle with my right hand, and I can slightly roll my thumb over the edge of the bezel and trigger the next page without fear of dropping the device. EasyReach is really an appropriate name.

Battery

Amazon claims a two-month long battery life for the Kindle Touch. I obviously haven’t been able to test that yet, but I believe it. After a week of heavy use, only a sliver of the battery meter is missing. And that’s with Wi-Fi on since I unboxed it.

The Box

Even the box was done with Amazon style. You get a plain, rectangular, slim box, with one edge beveled off at a 45° angle. Along that beveled edge is a pull strip. Yank it, and that releases a lid which has a quick tutorial card on the inside, and you see your Kindle in a small tray. Under the Kindle is a solitary micro-USB cable.

The initial instructions are on the Kindle screen, set in E Ink. If you bought it directly from Amazon, it is already pre-set with your Amazon account, with any books you had previously purchased waiting in the archive.

Special Offers

I bought the $99 Wi-Fi Kindle Touch with Special Offers. These are basically ads that are shown only on the lock screen and a small section at the bottom of the home screen. I have found them largely unobtrusive and have even seen a couple good deals that I was tempted by, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on one yet.

You can buy the Kindle outright without Special Offers for an extra $40. The nice thing is if you buy it with Special Offers you are not locked into them forever. You can pay the difference on the device itself to remove them.

My recommendation is to save the $40 initially, and see if the ads bother you or not. If not, you win. If they do, you pay the difference and never see them again.

Epilogue

The Kindle Touch is by far the best Kindle yet. The touchscreen is accurate and works great. The E Ink is stunning. It is super light. The build quality is the best Amazon has put out yet on any of their devices.

If you are looking for an eBook reader that you don’t need to worry about and actually does just get out of your way to let you read, look no further than the Kindle Touch.

If you want to get a Kindle Touch for yourself, using this link will give me some spare change to fund my growing book addiction.

Stephen M. Hackett's Kindle Fire Review

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SMH:

Look, here’s the thing: the Kindle Fire sucks unless you are earlobe-deep in Amazon’s ecosystem. Even then, the hardware and software aren’t stellar. It’s cheaply made with a small screen and a heavy chassis. The software is laggy and crashes at times. The weird UI means apps are never where you left them.

[…]

This thing isn’t an iPad killer. Hell, it isn’t even a Generic Android Tablet killer.

Slow Down

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In tune with the previous post, my local, friendly arch-nemesis of mobile operating systems, Ryan Minert, is also fed up with the overwhelming deluge of Android handsets:

Manufuacturers need to slow down and space out their launches to no more than 3 per year to give their current devices a chance to grab market hold.

[…]

People tend to buy what their friends/family already have, so if devices stayed as “new” for longer, carriers and manufacturers would make more money, rather than discounting the device mere weeks after launch.

This is why Apple limits choice, folks. Some may argue that Apple is too severe in their limits (Ryan makes that assertion), but it’s obvious that fewer choices are better in the long haul.