New(wish) tech and updates

I recently was sent a 2015 iPad pro from my brother after he bought a top end 2020 version. I had been very curious about how close they were to letting me replace my laptop, at least on most trips away with something lighter and easier to use while away. Transferring the data from my iPad 6th generation which was still pretty new went really well except for some reason, my PDF files in the Book App are not aviable or even recognized on the new device. For the most part, I plan to draw on it and after using Sketchbook Pro and Procreate on it, it excels for that. I also am waiting for the iPad version of Affinity Publisher to get released so all my design, illustration and photo work can all be done on the go with no loss of functions or quality. the only thing I will not be able to do is my 3D work, which is something I rarely do while away but do it enough to keep the laptop for now. It's sort of ginormous so it's less handy as a purely mobile device. It's basically the same size as my laptop but with a better screen and actually a little faster.

I sold my iPad 6th generation and it's accessories like the keyboard cover, bag etc for enough money to get a new bag for the new Ipad Pro and to fill a need or two that a huge Pro model can't be used for - I bought an iPod touch. Yes, they still make them even though you have to hunt for long time on the Apple site to find them. It's pretty much like it's been for years but that is not a bad thing. I can put it in my bike riding shirt pocket and stream podcasts to my wi-fi riding glasses as I do my longer rides with no problem and without have to drag a suitcase with a large iPad in it behind me. 

I also updated my post blur effect plugin of choice, Reel Motion Blur, for Apple's Motion app and it works great, faster than in After Effects it seems. X -Particles plugin for Cinema 4D also updated this past week with some very cool new features I really could have used on some of my past projects. I know, these are all technical things no one but me knows anything about as a rule, but I find it exciting. 

Once Affinity Publisher comes out for the tablet, I'll be in a place I rarely get to these days... I'll feel like I have all I need to get what I want to do for work and my personal projects. Nothing I have is the most powerful anything, but it'll good for me to get things done. 

Not Worth The Wait

I can’t speak for the other iphone apps from the iworks suite from Apple but Numbers was not worth the wait for it’s iphone counterpart.

I am not a heavy spreadsheet user and even I found important things missing. The most mystifying thing is the lack of landscape mode, if any iphone app needed it, it’s a spreadsheet software. Another thing is the lack of drop down menu support which is something else you really need on a device with limited screen space.

The interface is clunky, especially for an Apple product and the import/export functions are downright horrible. Mac doesn't seem to have a good plan for updating documents across the desktop to mobile and back arena yet. I am sure this «icloud» thing is going to address some of that but trusting my documents to be on Apple’s servers is not a comforting thought for as I mentioned in an earlier post.

Seems to me the Google online suite is much better thought out. If Apple wants to compete in enterprise more, these issues will need to be addressed. I wasn’t expected anything near a full features spreadsheet, but I was expecting something useful and this can barely make even that low goalpost. 10$ is a lot to pay for something this lacking in features and usability.

Some Hidden Object Games

20000 leagues under the sea
Jack l’eventruer
Frankenstein- case of the dismembered bride
treasure island- the gold bug
time machine
Hollywood

I have to put these few games under the same review fro a few reason. Firstly they are all very similar and second, it’s just easier to lump them all in one.
Part of the HDo adventure series of games, these are all based, very loosely, on classic stories. The interfaces are pretty much the same as is the gameplay. Click to go from one location to another and find objects, as well as a couple of puzzles here and there. None of them is very hard, but all of them are diverting and amusing. The Jules Verne game follows the story well and would be a good introduction to young people to Verne’s novels. I played these all in French so I can’t speak for the english versions, but some of the names of objects were a little weird, including one I could not find in a dictionary! The graphics are all well done. The only setbacks are that the games were obviously ported from larger screen versions and finding some things is all but impossible save for luck. They all have interesting twists on the original book scenarios and give the player a little «wink wink» that they know the game is not the point of living but a nice diversion from a dull day. I big plus is that you can shut off the repetitive music in the background which will quickly drive you insane. The only one I really found lacking even at 99 cents was «Hollywood» as each scene had many of the same objects to find and overall the concept was pretty dull.

4th Generation iPod Touch

Earlier this week I received the new Ipod touch, something I’d ben toying with buying since they were first released a few years back. It wasn’t cheap, I bought the64 gig version, but it was less money than the lowest storage capacity iPad and for my uses, more practical. I’ve never had a smart phone or touch device, so it was all new to me and therefore likely a little more exciting than it would be to many people who are used to these sort of devices.

This is one impressive device, easy to use, fast, versatile and very useful. This new version comes with 2 cameras and can take video and also take advantage of Apple’s new «Facetime» feature. This is a feature many people will have hard time trying as it only works with new iphone and ipods touches. I only know one person who I might be able to video chat with and we haven’t been able to set that up yet. The camera quality isn’t great, isn’t terrible. I see complaints on many sites about this and I don’t quite get it.... it’s music player, not a camera after all! It’s perfectly fine for taking snaps here and there and sending images of the vase you just have to buy to the spouse for approval. «Skype» on it is a dream, if you live in a heavily covered wi-fi area as i do, it’s almost like having a cell phone without the extra fees. The mail app from apple, once you get it working which was , to say the least, a very frustrating experience for me, is fantastic and syncs seamlessly to my mall app on my computer. The ability to group apps into folders is so useful, I can’t imagine how people managed on older versions. Book reading is easier than you’d think and browsing the internet fairly simple. The lack of «flash» is not really a problem. I’ll be updating the Behemothmedia page over the next months to make it more mobile friendly and «flash» will no longer be a part of it. I imagine eventually, the player will come to Apple devices but until then, it’s not exactly crucial. Watching videos, especially after years of watching them on an Ipod classic is a dream. The next 8 hour bus trip to Boston won’t be nearly as dull.

Short comings are what I would have expected. My fingers are not small enough for fluid typing, the auto correct is a horror show if you write often in 2 languages as I do... one of them will always be «corrected» with words that are hard to remove once the ipod has decided what you meant to type. The app store is a nightmare, trying to find things can be tedious and a chore. Electronic books should not cost the same as printed ones and many apps are not updated enough, but that is more a complaint about apps in general and not limited to the touch.