Followup to the map fiasco

Posted on September 29, 2012 by andy dingfelder

I read a post on Apple.com where the CEO just apologised for the map fiasco:

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

Interesting to say the least.

I did not expect to hear him suggesting that upset iPhone owners try other mapping applications such as the web version of Google Maps.

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Why did Apple ditich Google maps?

Posted on September 28, 2012 by andy dingfelder

Why did Apple ditich Google maps?

I like my iPhone.  I like Google Maps.  I don’t like the fact that they dumped my map app in iOS6 and gave me a replacement I didn’t ask for.  Now, maybe I will learn to like it over time, but that has not happened yet.

Why did they do it?

I read an article this morning linked to from a facebook post  The real issue about Apple maps which claims the following:

The key thing in the maps situation is what this move says about Apple and the kind of company it has become.

As Roger Kay points out on Forbes:

Does Apple care that its naked self interest is showing? Not at all, near as I can tell. Apple has always had disdain for what others think, even — no, especially — customers.

However, for a potential customer on the cusp of deciding whether to buy an Apple or an Android phone, this blatantly dishonorable move — to take away from consumers something that they liked and put in its place a home-grown but inferior substitute — is likely to push them definitively into the Google camp.

But I don’t buy that explanation.  I think this “review” is pretty biased. Yes the maps issue needs to be dealt with and improved.

Sometimes companies have to make decisions that are business based, not driven by customers, it happens.

But I think this guy goes overboard and makes it sound like every decision Apple makes is that way, which I think is wrong.

I am a firm believer in the design aspects of apple and they spend a lot of effort with end users making sure the products work the way people need, and then they just work so well you don’t notice them.

 

I read an alternate theory as well this morning, that I gives the correct answer:

Despite having one more year to the contract,  It turns out the answer is turn-by-turn voice navigation.

It wasn’t a feature in the original Apple-Google licensing agreement, so Apple went back to Google to renegotiate what has become a top-tier feature on Android.

Apple wanted it.  In return, Google wanted increased branding in the maps app and Apple refused)

Or else they required Apple to integrate Lattitude (Google’s FourSquare competitor), to which Apple refused as well.

As a result Apple was forced to seek other sources in order to obtain this feature.

This sounds a lot more plausable to me, so I am picking that answer.

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iPhone5 gets a thumbs up from Consumer Reports

Posted on September 8, 2012 by andy dingfelder

Consumer Reports, the influential reviewers’ group that blasted the iPhone 4 for a faulty antenna, on Friday gave Apple Inc’s latest smartphone a thumbs-up despite echoing widespread complaints about its patchy mapping service.

In a review for Reuters, Edwin Chan wrote:

The organization, which in 2010 withheld its recommendation for the iPhone because of spotty reception when the gadget was held in a certain way, said laboratory tests confirmed that the new iPhone 5 ranked among the best smartphones but its mapping function clearly fell short.

Apple’s latest iPhone, sporting a larger 4-inch screen and 4G capability, drew scathing reviews for glaring errors in a new, self-designed mapping service. Chief Executive Tim Cook apologized last week and directed users to rival services run by Google Inc and others.

“Despite the widespread criticism it has received, Apple’s new Maps app… is competent enough, even if it falls short of what’s available for free on many other phones,” reviewer Mike Gikas wrote on the group’s website on Friday.

“As Apple has recently apologized and promised to fix these and other map glitches, we expect the Map app to improve in time,” he wrote

And Mike Gikas went on to say:

“Now that our auto experts have completed their tests, including some carried out some days after the launch, they describe the app as relatively streamlined, and concluded that it generally provides clear guidance, including voice and on-screen directions,” Gikas wrote.

So, it is not all bad news from Apple.  Having said that, I am hearing rumours that there may details about a camera problem emerging…   more on that soon.

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Day 30 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – Where do you see technology advancing in the next 20 years – and where will you fit in?

Posted on August 2, 2012 by andy dingfelder

Day 30 – Where do you see technology advancing in the next 20 years – and where will you fit in?

I believe the next 20 years will bring a lot of new and exciting technology.  But that is too long to predict what will occur.

  • I think HTML5 will finally be here, and the iPhone/Android wars will be over.
  • Java will still be in use.  And so will COBOL 🙂
  • We should have cool virtual reality glasses by then, or a system that will project as a hologram instead of  requiring a monitor.
  • The idea in movies of not needing a keyboard or mouse (and manipulating objects in the holographic projection) seems really cool.  Can they pull it off?  No clue.
  • All monitors will be touch screens.  And all glass will be tough like iPhone screens.
  • All cars will have integrated technology, a monitor for communication, traffic, GPS and more, instead of a stereo.

Where will I fit in?  I am most happy when I am working with others, communicating and managing.  I am good with technology, and I will stay involved with tech topics, but I do not see myself doing much active development, except as a hobby.  I see myself as a CTO or Business Technology Manager for a large firm in 20 years, somewhere I can focus on strategic planning and guiding others into successful decisions.

That’s it for the 30 Days  of Geek series of blog posts.   I will now move on to some topics in other areas, but it has been fun !

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Day 29 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – Looking back (at geek life), would you have done anything differently?

Posted on July 2, 2012 by andy dingfelder

Day 29 – Looking back (at geek life), would you have done anything differently?

If I did things differently, I probably would not have met Linda and had 2 wonderful daughters and gotten to New Zealand.

So , I would not want to trade my current life.

Having said that, I did make a few decisions that in hindsight might not have made sense as a young adult.  I spent too much time playing and partying when I was in school.  And I changed majors multiple times.  But I have always loved technology, so in hindsight, going right into the technology sector would have made my live easier.  If I had gone straight into Computer Science for my BS, I probably would have gotten my Masters Degree at Duke or UNC (in Computer Science) and maybe my PhD too.

Instead, I got a more business oriented in my approach, and my Masters Degree is an MPA (Masters of Public Administration) with a concentration in Information Technology, from North Carolina State University.

So, things worked out well, I just took a roundabout way of getting where I am.

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Day 28 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – How many computers lying about the house?

Posted on June 2, 2012 by andy dingfelder

Day 28 – How many computers lying about the house?

Too Many.

  • I am typing this on a Dell Inspiron 1764, which has a nice wide 17″ screen for development.
  • Linda has a Dell 15″ laptop, which she uses for her Vet applictions and financial software.
  • The kids (and I) use a MacBook as a family PC, along with a 24″ ViewSonic LED monitor
  • I have 3 older PCs of various speeds which are still alive.  One is occassionaly used as a media center, one as a print and file sever, and the last might become a PC for the garage or clinic.
  • Our 2 old laptops are still alive, one is a HP, the other a Compaq.  The Compaq has not been turned on in a few years, it”s power supply connection is unstable and the USB ports are flaky.
  • We also have a Wii and an XBOX but I guess those might not count 🙂

So, the count is something like 8 total, 4-5 are useful.

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Day 27 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – Fix a bug in some open source software and commit the patch

Posted on May 2, 2012 by andy dingfelder

Day 27 – Fix a bug in some open source software and commit the patch

hmmm.  I think this is a mirror of the previous post on open source software, and I refer you to that answer

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Day 26 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – Apple – friend, foe or other?

Posted on April 2, 2012 by andy dingfelder

Day 26 – Apple – friend, foe or other?

See my previous post about thoughts about Microsoft.  As I addressed there, I think both Apple and Microsoft (and Linux) all have their pros and cons.

One thing I dont love is their restrictions on publishing apps.  (You have to go though their app store).  I understand their reasons, security (keeps bad stuff out) and revenue (they want to make $) but I woiuld like to be able to make my own iPhone apps and put them on my own phone.

I have a MacBook and I use it as a family PC, it is great for FaceTime chats with Grandad in America.

I also have an iPhone, and I love it.  The design is perfect, and it just works, every time.

So, I am not an apple “FanBoy” as some call Apple users, but I do use their products a lot.

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Day 25 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – Microsoft – friend, foe or other?

Posted on March 2, 2012 by andy dingfelder

– Microsoft – friend, foe or other?

Both.  Linux sucks for games, and Mac is not far ahead.  Yes, they could be good if the vendors supported them, but at the moment, they dont, so Microsoft is the only alternative.

One thing I do NOT like about Microsoft is that developing apps for that platform means that you are locked into only that one solution.

But the development packages are generally easy to use, and the end product is pretty smooth.  I learned C++ under some of the early versions of Visual Studio and it has only gotten better.  I do think their version control systems are lame though, (Open Source) SVN and GIT are much better, and integrate nicely into Visual Studio.

I have used and administered so many different Windows products:

  • MS DOS
  • Windows 3.0 – 3.1 for workgroups
  • Windows NT (3.x – Windows 2000)
  • Citrix (Remote)
  • Windows 95, 98, ME
  • Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
  • Windows Server 2000 – 2008
  • Windows CE (Mobile)

I have not yet tried Windows 8, but I am hearing interesting things.

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Day 24 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – How do you feel about Open Source vs Proprietary software?

Posted on February 2, 2012 by andy dingfelder

– How do you feel about Open Source vs Proprietary software?

This can be a very passionate topic.  Many of my (Linux using) peers feel very strongly about supporting ONLY Open Source software.  On the otherhand, I work with people in the other camp (alsmost exclusively Microsoft) who refuse to consider the possibility that there is any merit in anything but proprietary software.

I am not an ideological pusher of either, I believe both have their places.

When I need to do image editing and graphics work, or want to chat via facetime I go to my Mac (primarily proprietary apps).

When I want to develop a bit of Java code, I go to Linux and use an Open Source IDE.

When I want to play games, or have a business app that only runs on a Windows PC (our accounting package for example) I go to Windows 7.  Typically proprietary.

I will gladly use a Linux distribution that has lots of Open Source apps, and I find many of them equal to or better than their proprietary equivalents  But there are definately some situations where there is no Open Source options.  I find Photoshop superior to GIMP for example, and I like ARCInfo for GIS stuff and SAS for Statistical work.

So, there you have it.  I have my cake and eat it too.

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