Mike Cohen

I Can Has an Update

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I’ve submitted the version 1.1 update of I Can Has Cheezburger, although I doubt if it will be approved before Christmas. Rather than wait for the server-side submission API, I’ve decided to make the other improvements available.

New in this version:

  • Application starts up with the last image viewed instead of starting at the beginning.
  • You can create LOLs by captioning your own pictures from the camera or saved photos. Unfortunately the web side submission API isn’t ready, so you can only save them to the camera roll.
  • You can now pinch zoom to resize the picture & double-tap to return to normal size.
  • It will recognize LOLs that contain movies and attempt to open them in Safari, although not all of them will play on an iPhone.
  • You can now email a link to a LOL.

iDjembe 1.0.1

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I submitted iDjembe 1.0.1 last night, although I doubt if it will be approved before Christmas. This is a very minor update, primarily to change the system requirements so it will work on a 1st generation iPod Touch. I also amplified & normalized some of the sound samples in Audacity so they’ll sound better on an iPhone.

Mourning my Prius

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After no problems for over a year, the 12v starter battery (NOT the hybrid battery) in my Prius died again. This time it wouldn’t even hold a charge if I don’t drive for one day.

I finally gave in and traded it for a Corolla S. This is the third Corolla I’ve owned and I’ve never had one bit of trouble with any of them.

As a final goodbye, I had to jump start the Prius today to get it to the dealer, and when I tried to open it to transfer my stuff to the new car, the battery was dead again.

It feels weird driving a regular car again & I miss some of the features, like the touch screen for audio & climate control. I also miss not having to fumble with a key to start the Prius. Since I don’t take a lot of long trips, which are really needed to keep the underpowered starter battery in the Prius charged, I’m better off with something low maintenance.

New car

I can (almost) haz an update

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I have an update to ICanHasCheezburger almost ready to go, but I’m waiting for a server side feature before I can release it. I was going to try to release it before Christmas, but Apple says the approval process is backlogged and new submissions most likely won’t be ready before Christmas. Instead, I’m trying for Macworld week now.

Highlights of version 1.1:

  • Pinch Zoom support. You can now use a pinch gesture to resize pictures. Swiping to go to next or previous image is now only allowed when the image is not resized. You can double-click a zoomed image to restore it to normal size.
  • Create your own LOLz with a picture from the camera or a saved picture. Unfortunately the server API for submitting images isn’t available yet, so for now it will just be saved to the camera roll.
  • Recognizes movies contained in the feed and will attempt to open them in YouTube, but unfortunately many of the movies won’t play on an iPhone.
  • Application always starts up with the last viewed image from the previous session rather than the first image.

End of an era

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As you’ve probably heard, Apple announced today that this will be their last appearance at Macworld Expo and Steve Jobs won’t deliver the keynote address. Although Apple wasn’t an official sponsor of Macworld Expo, the event revolved around their announcements. This doesn’t mean that Macworld Expo will end, but I really don’t expect it to continue without them. Most likely the show will die in a few years, like the east coast Macworld Expo did after Apple stopped exhibiting there.

The timing of Macworld Expo soon after New Years was probably bad for Apple, since it meant they had to time their major announcements for January and miss the holiday shopping season.

TidBITS offers some good perspective on the announcement.

I already have my tickets & hotel reservation for Macworld Expo, so I’m still going and I’ll savor what will most likely be the last one I’ll attend. I probably won’t get up at 4AM to line up for the keynote, though.

I went to my first Macworld Expo in 1988, after I moved to Los Angeles, since it was a quick & inexpensive trip.

During Macworld Expo 1991, I got the news on the last day of the show that my father died and I walked around in shock the rest of the day before flying back to New York the following day.

After I left the west coast, I stopped going until a few years ago. Last year was one of the biggest shows, but this year was already showing signs of being a disappointment with Adobe and several other companies pulling out.

No iPhone Nano

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Some sites still insist that there will be an iPhone Nano at Macworld Expo. I guarantee that there will NOT be an iPhone nano.

Just think about it. Look at your iPhone and bring up the keyboard. Do you really want a smaller screen? Will most people with average sized hands be able to comfortably use a smaller keyboard than the current iPhone keyboard?

The limited screen space would force developers to redesign their applications to fit on a smaller screen and make it necessary to maintain separate versions for regular iPhone or iPod Touch and iPhone Nano.

Great in-ear headset for iPhone

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Today I got a Maximo iP-HS2 iMetal Isolation Headset for my iPhone. It was $36 from Buy.com and has the full functionality of Apple’s standard earbuds including a built-in microphone and call control button. Since this is an in-ear model, the sound quality is a lot better than Apple’s earbuds and it provides good noise isolation. I was able to listen in the gym at a comfortable 50% volume and still block out the music blasting from a boom box.