Following on from my recent post about the iPhone 4 Bumper case and an excellent follow-up comment on it from Jonathan Issacs I thought I’d outline a few issues I’ve found with charging my iPhone 4.

First, to address Jonathan’s question, which was:

Great post Elaine, I assume that when using a bumper this has to be taken off for the phone to use the dock?

However I’m sure I read somewhere that this wasn’t the case (no pun intended), could you shed some light on the situation?

I made the decision not to buy the new dock, which is especially designed for iPhone 4, long before I sat in the store on launch day facing the temptation head-on! I was still smarting from my recent purchase of the iPad dock and my disappointment with it, full details of why I was disappointed are in MacBites Episode 44 but a few of my issues with it are:

1. It won’t charge the iPad without removing the case
2. It isn’t sturdy enough to hold the iPad and allow typing on the screen without the iPad rocking dangerously
3. It only holds the iPad in portrait mode, not the best for watching video

All of which didn’t stop me admiring the aesthetics of the new dock on launch day, but I refrained. The reason I refrained was that the new dock will not charge the iPhone without removing the Bumper case. This would not be a big issue but for how awkward it is to remove the Bumper case, which is extremely close fitting.

I had high hopes of repurposing the iPad dock for use with the iPhone 4 but it doesn’t fit the iPhone 4 either with or without the Bumper *foiled again*.

But no worries I guess there’s always the charging cable, right?

Well it turns out not all charging cables are made equal and when your iPhone 4 is wearing a Bumper this makes a difference. Over the years the design of these cables has varied greatly and they don’t all work with the new Bumper clad iPhone 4.

From the left these are, iPhone 4, iPod 60gb Video, generic replacement cable

The cable that ships with the iPhone 4 works perfectly even when it’s in the Bumper case. However, the 60gb video iPod cable doesn’t work and neither does the generic replacement on the right.

The dock connector with the Bumper case on

The reason is the width of the plastic casing, as shown in the image of the cables above and the silicon inside the Bumper covering the connector, shown in the previous image.

The head of the cable has become progressively thinner over the years and while this is elegant in design it’s not without issues.

Obviously my immediate concern is that a wider casing means it won’t charge my iPhone without removing the case.

A corollary issue is that the reason I had bought a generic replacement rather than a replacement cable manufactured by Apple was that with each interaction of the Apple cable it has become more fragile and less fit for purpose.

I have had an Apple cable split at the connector end on my iPod Shuffle, Apple acknowledged the issue and replaced it. Sadly this wasn’t a one off and there are at least three Apple cables in the house right now that I don’t deem safe to use, having split in general use.

Here’s just one of them!

So it looks like a catch 22 for me right now, I’m happy with the Bumper case but using it means I can’t use the dock or anything other than a new style Apple cable for charging and synching, the build quality and/or design of which is, in my opinion, flawed for anything other than extremely light use.

After the usual organized chaos of the pre-order system (it melted), the fight with the car park (got locked in this time not locked out) and the horrendous queue (see pictures below) I have a shiny new iPhone 4.

This is my second iPhone the first being the 3G version in 2008, I was forced to miss the 3GS due to the 18 month contract I was locked into with O2. This time however I had outwitted them by transferring to the Simplicity for iPhone contract in January this year paying £20 a month for more voice minutes and texts with the other services staying the same.

Since the white iphone 4 wasn’t available on launch day my only decision was between the 16gb and 32gb versions and since this would be my first iPhone capable of recording video I considered the decision pretty much made for me … a 32gb it would be.

So I was all sorted, or was I? The only thing I hadn’t decided on was a case. When Apple announced the iPhone 4 they also announced a semi-case called a Bumper. As a case was a bit lacking as it had neither a back or a front, it was in essence a strip of what looked like elastic which wrapped around the metal edge of the new device.

I’ll admit I wasn’t particularly impressed with it as a case and even less impressed with the price of $29 which using Apple’s exchange rate translated to £25. Hence, the only options available at launch were a £25 elastic band or a naked iPhone. I decided to reserve judgement on the Bumper until I’d seen it, which proved to be a wise move.

The night before launch a story started circulating regarding the cellular signal gradually diminishing when the iPhone 4 was held in a certain way. More information followed to the effect that it was touching the antenna system especially in the lower left corner of the phone that was causing the problem. If true then adding a Bumper to the device should mitigate the issue. The queue was alive with talk of this potential problem and there was much debate as to whether the Bumper would prevent it.

The staff brought phones out of the store to demo them to those waiting in the five various queues they had organized and when I asked if we could see the Bumpers in action he promptly returned to the store and brought one out which he passed around the queue. It was helpful to be able to see it and even better to be able to test it prior to making a decision regarding it’s purchase.

I decided in the end that it didn’t detract too much from the new sleek design and in fact having tried it I could see that with a Bumper I might not need any other case. The rim of the Bumper lifts the phone off any surface it is laid on so there’s less chance of scratching it. It also made the iPhone feel very secure when I was holding it, much more so than the case on my 3G.

Obviously with chatter reaching monumental proportions over the signal issue I tried replicating the symptoms on my iPhone 4 but with or without the Bumper I could not get the signal to degrade irrespective of how I held the device but plenty of others are reporting that they can so your mileage may vary.

Since my purchase many people have commented that they are seriously considering purchasing a Bumper to mitigate any problem with signal loss arising from touching the antenna. So for those considering the purchase here are a few images which show various comparisons between an iPhone 4 with a Bumper and one without.

Comparison of the front

Comparison of the back

There’s a cutout for the mute button and metal buttons for the volume controls

Cutout for headphone jack, secondary microphone and a metal button for the power switch

Yes it shows finger prints on the plastic strips

Contrary to my initial skepticism the Bumper isn’t just an elastic band it has more shape than that, nor is it made solely from rubber/silicon. There are shiny plastic strips on each edge which keep the shape of the Bumper.

Showing the cutout and buttons

Cutout for the iPhone charging/synching connector

Interior view of the cutout for the mute switch and volume controls

Interior view of the headphone jack cutout and the power switch

So that’s the iPhone 4 Bumper, I’d love to hear what you think and if you’ve any questions just add a comment!

News was coming from Google thick and fast last week as they enjoyed their annual developer conference Google IO.

One of the most significant announcements for me was Google Wave being opened up to the masses. I’ve been using Wave since it’s developer preview release in early 2009 and I seem to be one of very few people who’ve used it for a sustained period of time.

Google Wave caused much comment and generated a lot of curiosity on it’s public release in 2009 but that initial interest was not sustained. Sadly the one thing Google failed to do was translate the initial curiosity about Wave into usage scenarios the average user could comprehend.

Even attempting an explanation of what Wave is and what it can do is difficult as there is nothing similar with which to compare it. Worse still were early reports drawing parallels between Wave and social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook. Such comparisons are both inaccurate and unfair. Sadly though those comparisons struck a cord with a large part of the audience that could benefit from the wonders of Wave and it has yet to recover from the stigma of the unfair comparison.

Let’s be clear Wave is not Twitter, it’s not Facebook, it’s not LinkedIn and it’s probably not like anything you’ll have seen before.

So having ruled out what Wave isn’t the next step is trying to define exactly what it is.

Wave is all about collaboration. A Wave, as it’s termed, is an online “document” that appointed users can collaborate on, seeing each keystroke made by other collaborators in real time. It does however do much more than mere collaboration. There’s threaded discussions, embedded applications to add interactive functionality to your online documents such as polls, embedded YouTube videos, maps and much more.

While seemingly a gimmick one of the most powerful features of Wave is the ability to rewind the Wave and replay it action by action to follow how it got to it’s current state. What better way for a new collaborator to get up to speed without lengthy team orientation sessions.

So what do I use it for?

That’s easy – everything I do that involves collaborating with others to get it done! In fact sometimes I start a Wave for a project just in case I may need to collaborate on the topic later.

As an experiment I’m looking at live Waving a couple of upcoming events to create a record of the real-time interaction, so if you’re coming along to any of my speaking engagements don’t be surprised to see me Waving and do feel free to join me!

In fact I’m delivering a demonstration of Google Wave itself online on 29 July 2010. You are most welcome to join me. If you are interested in what Google Wave can do for you, see http://nwiitt.org.uk/wave for details of how to attend.

As with any new gadget the initial device is only half the story, as soon as the wrapping is off you’re on the prowl for those nice little additions that will make your purchase feel right at home.

I had already ordered the Apple case and charging dock at the same time as the iPad so I didn’t expect to be heading out quite so soon for more “office warming gifts” to help my iPad settle in.

The problems with the Apple iPad dock were evident immediately. First, it was not designed to be used with an iPad in an Apple case so the case needs to be removed every time it’s used. There is an alternative already adopted by many and that is to modify the case, making the cut out area around the dock connector bigger. I wasn’t prepared to do that and even if I had been it wouldn’t have addressed the other issues I had with the dock.

My second issue was that even having taken the iPad out of it’s case, and that’s no mean feat as it’s a very snug fit, to seat it correctly in the dock, attempting to type on it was not a good experience. The whole iPad moves as you type on it, not dangerously so but enough to make trying to type on it annoying.

Last but by no means least was the fact that the dock does not allow the iPad to be displayed/held in landscape mode. Since it plays videos beautifully I anticipated using the iPad in landscape mode frequently. Although not specially designed for landscape display the iPhone dock will safely hold the phone in that orientation and I’d anticipated being able to use the iPad dock in a similar way.

There are plenty of images out there showing the iPad in landscape mode using nothing more than the Apple case but after trying this I came to the conclusion that it was far from secure enough for my new toy.

So armed with a set of very specific requirements I was in the market for a new stand. It needed to:

• Hold the iPad securely in portrait mode
• Hold the iPad securely in landscape mode
• Allow the iPad to be charged
• Let me type on the virtual keyboard without the iPad rocking
• Not take up an excessive amount of desk space
• Be portable
• Look half decent!

Talking with iPad owning friends I narrowed the choice down to 3, the Stabile, the Luxa2 H4 and the Book Arc.

Stabile

Luxa2 H4

Book Arc

The Stabile is hardly portable at 4lbs and it also needs a lot of valuable desktop space.

As for the Luxa2 H4, call me shallow but I couldn’t get past the “pegs” that hold the iPad in place, in fact after a while the “pegs” were all I could see.

That left the Book Arc which looked like it ticked all the boxes. Only problem seemed to be nowhere had any in stock yet.

Roll on Saturday morning and an emergency trip to the Apple Store was needed (no REALLY needed … honest!) so while there I of course perused what the accessories section had to offer. Surprisingly they had the Book Arc in stock and the staff were more than obliging in permitting an unboxing to test it out. That was when I realized I needed to add another requirement to the list – I really wanted to be able to use it without taking the Apple case off the iPad.

The Book Arc is really nothing more than an arc of metal with a large slot cut out. The cut out is edged with a grey latex insert, the function of which is to protect the iPad from damage. There are actually two of these latex inserts in the box. The first is used when the iPad is case-less and the second had a wider gap to allow it to be used without the need to remove the iPad’s case before use.

Since I had my iPad with me I was able to test this.

Without the case it worked well, there is a cut out to allow access to the home button and the viewing angle can be adjusted albeit only very slightly. It was very neat, completely portable and allows the iPad to be charged in both orientations. It looks beautiful and feels like Apple themselves have made it.

It wasn’t perfect though, the angle it held the device at made it difficult to type on and when you did there was too much movement in the iPad.

Changing the latex insert I tried it with the iPad in it’s case and things got worse. While the insert might work perfectly well with a skin type of case it clearly wasn’t made with the Apple case in mind. It would just about fit into the gap but it was too tight for comfort and seemed to force the iPad to lean forward.

I was disappointed but luckily while I was considering what other options there were my eye caught something from Griffin and it’s perfect.

It’s a Griffin A-Frame, best described as a small copy holder for your iPad. It’s 100% solid to type on in both portrait and landscape modes. The viewing angle adjusts more than you’d imagine by moving the leg at the back.

The stand is substantial but not so heavy to not be portable. It has integrated rubber feet which hold it in position and a rubber shelf that the iPad sits on. It also has rubber back supports that ensure case-less iPads are held securely without damage. There’s integrated cable management via the leg at the back.

The A-Frame is equally usable when the iPad is in the Apple case holding it comfortably in place with the front flap folded in behind the iPad or dangling over the back.

Amazingly it didn’t end there though. The Griffin A-Frame had some extra benefits I hadn’t included in my original list of requirements.

It can be folded to lie flat which raises the iPad just enough to create a comfortable typing angle, it folds flat for travel and holds the iPhone in portrait mode which is great for TV/video watching.

Surprisingly it even allows the Apple dock to be attached to the iPad whilst using the A-Frame. It you think that sounds like something you’d never need to do think again! Attaching the dock in that way allows the Camera Connection Kit to be used while the iPad is held in the A-Frame

It was £39.95 in the Apple Store which was £5 more expensive than the Book Arc, priced at £34.94. Prices at various online stores were considerably lower at £29.95 but they had none in stock.

Don’t you love it when you find the perfect peripheral and you’re not forced in to a compromise of some sort

Update on Tuesday, 1 June 2010 at 17:00

I need to clarify that when I said “… holds the iPhone in portrait mode which is great for TV/video watching.” I really did mean the iPhone! While the gap in the A-Frame plinth is too wide to hold the iPhone in portrait mode it does hold it in landscape. So yes I really was referring to the iPhone

Also thought I’d add a few more photos for those folks who have asked what the iPad looks like on the A-Frame inside the Apple Case.

Overview

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Setup your FREE 2gb Dropbox account now and you can join in our interactive demonstration on the night, use our referral link and get an extra 250mb of online storage absolutely FREE.

Date and Time

27 May 2010, 20:00 – 21:30 BST

Presenter

Elaine Giles

How to Attend

It is not necessary to register. To join the meeting simply go to the online meeting room and enter your name into the Enter as a Guest box

Requirements

This is an online meeting which is run using Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro – a browser-based communication tool. All you need to join is:

• A computer – PC or Mac
• A browser
• The Adobe Flash Player version 8, 9 or 10
• An internet connection
• A pair of headphones or speakers

One of banes of a computer user’s life is installing software. In my Windows days building up a new machine was a complete nightmare with multiple reboots and update upon update.

Installing software on a Mac tends to be a less painful experience as a simple drag and drop of the application to the Applications folder is generally all that is required. However there are notable exceptions to this installation nirvana and the two application suites I find myself having to schedule the best part of a day to facilitate the installation of are Adobe’s Creative Suite and Apple’s Final Cut Studio.

Hence, you can imagine my dilemma when CS5 arrived. I wanted to install it straight away but the pain and duration of the CS4 installation process was still burnt into my consciousness. So time consuming was the CS4 installation that I hadn’t bothered installing it at all on my new (7 week old) iMac knowing CS5′s release was imminent. I couldn’t hold out much longer though!

My CS5 installation files were delivered via the Adobe Electronic Software Download servers which at least meant I didn’t have to suffer the seemingly interminable grinding of the SuperDrive to install from physical media.

So with a copious supply of tea and reading materials I settled down to install the behemoth that is Creative Suite 5 Master Collection.

I was installing twice, yes that’s permitted under the licensing agreement, first on my oldest iMac before moving on to my new iMac.

The first machine was a three and a half year old 24 inch iMac Core 2 Duo with 3GB RAM and 256MB graphics card. Installing CS4 had taken approximately 3.5 hours and the required post install software update another 1.5 hours, hence the tea and reading material

However, once the serial number and associated information had been entered the installation of CS5 seemed to motor along hardly giving me enough time to start my tea. All 17 Creative Suite Master Collection applications and assorted extra utilities were installed in 32 minutes. Wow! If I thought that was fast the progress on my new 27 inch 2.8 Intel Core i7 iMac with 8GB RAM and 512MB graphics card was even faster. From start to finish the installation took only 16 minutes. Truly amazing. Even better was the fact that the installation didn’t require a reboot.

It’s all too easy to complain about issues with software that doesn’t seem to be fast enough, flexible enough or anything else enough but credit where it’s due. Well done to Adobe for listening to one of the major complaints about previous versions of Creative Suite and more importantly doing something about it to improve the situation beyond what I for one dared to even dream of … now if you could just see your way to fixing the Export Panel in Bridge … see the demands of users never end

Scott Berkun is one of a rare breed, a public speaker who is also a very engaging writer. He writes in an easy to read and entertaining, style. In this work he mines a rich vein of personal experiences in public speaking and beyond.

In a brutally honest and jocular work his copious personal insights bring a distinctly individual touch to proceedings.

While much of the content is common sense it’s common sense that tends to be sacrificed on the pyre of the intense anxiety that pervades the world of anyone who has public speaking duties looming large in their life. Scott addresses all the things that get forgotten in the panic and pressure of an imminent public speaking engagement and does so in such a captivating way you’ll soon be wondering why you were so concerned in the first place.

Although Berkun’s book is not a prescriptive self help guide to improving your presenting skills there is plenty to draw upon.

He includes chapters on most of the areas you would expect covered in a book on public speaking but in addition to the expected he includes checklists of common pitfalls together with suggestions for how to deal effectively with them and their ilk.

He introduces the concept of a Plan B, the contingency plans which could save the day in a variety of circumstances. Nothing beats personal experience and it’s clear Scott Berkun has plenty of practical knowledge he puts to good use debunking the myths that have built up around a subject that is increasingly becoming a must have business skill.

The best part of the book is the laugh out loud, there but for the grace of God, chapter of war stories from various public speakers. These stories bring home that as a public speaker you are not alone; others in the field have not only faced your worst demons but have successfully conquered demons you had not yet even dreamt of.

Shamefully these trials are much funnier when they happen to someone else!

The images in the book look interesting. In fact there’s a whole section dedicated to showing “Photos you don’t expect to see”, sadly though the fact is they are printed far too small to be as useful as they could be. Worse than the size of the images is the decision to display them in black and white. Black and white would be uninspiring enough but the images are dark, so dark that it renders them completely ineffective. Both very strange decisions which make the images uninviting and superfluous.

One of the wonders of the modern web is that in addition to reading the book you are now able to watch the author in action as a public speaker in one or more of the several available videos on YouTube. I was fortunate enough to attend one of Scott’s speaking engagements live online and he is as absorbing in person as his book suggests he might be.

While this is an eminently satisfying read, more emphasis on the visual appeal of the book would be most welcome for future editions of it. Don’t let that dissuade you from purchasing it though as the message transcends the form. I’m looking forward to dipping back into this book again in the future.

Confessions of a Public Speaker is published by O’Reilly. It is available in print (ISBN-10: 0-596-80199-8 ISBN-13: 978-0-596-80199-1), as a PDF or online at O’Reilly Safari Books. If you’ve not used the Safari service before there is a 30 day trial of the system included with Confessions of a Public Speaker. A preview of Confessions of a Public Speaker is available at the O’Reilly web site

Oh yes a new tech toy to play with!!

I started podcasting in 2006 not long after getting my first Mac computer. While GarageBand and other applications installed on every new Mac facilitate the podcast creation process nicely it didn’t take long to realize that you need a good microphone if you want to get the best out of the applications.

I didn’t want to go down the route of external audio interfaces and complicated setups as I needed the solution I settled upon to be as portable as possible for making recordings away from the office. After some research I went with the beautifully crafted Blue Snowball USB microphone and I’ve used it ever since together with it’s smaller sibling the Blue Snowflake.

Obviously I’ve used it for podcasting but also for all the online training, presentations and seminars I’ve delivered and/or participated in during the past four years. The only thing I’d have changed about the Blue Snowball was the addition of a Gain control. I learned to manage the gain in an artificial way via software but it wasn’t ideal.

Enter the Blue Yeti microphone, announced in November 2009, a USB microphone with a stunning feature set and a performance level to match.

The Blue Yeti is large, very large, when using the included stand it towers at almost a foot high. The build quality is superb, the Yeti has a heavy solid feel to it to be expected when it weighs in at 3.5 pounds. The body of the microphone sports simple controls for setting the pattern selection, instantly muting the microphone and configuring the microphone gain. It also has a headphone jack on the base of the unit together with a standard threaded stand mount next to the mini USB port.

Installation, at least on a Mac, is simplicity itself merely a case of plugging in the USB cable and the system recognized it straight away. One of the features the Yeti has that the Snowball doesn’t is a built-in headphone amplifier on the base, as mentioned, which provides zero-latency monitoring. This is extremely convenient for my new studio setup, where I’m using a Mac Mini for audio recording, meaning I don’t have to move the Mini to access the headphone socket.

The pattern selection switch allows the microphone to be configured optimally for various recording types, including:

• Stereo (vocals, ensemble choir and instruments)
• Cardioid (podcasts, voiceovers, vocals and instruments)
• Omnidirectional (conference calls, field recordings and events/orchestra)
• Bidirectional (interviews, instruments and vocal duets)

Despite having a purpose built studio which provides much insulation against external noise I opted to use the cardioid pattern mode, to further reduce the chances of picking up extraneous noise, and was extremely pleased with the results. The sound is rich, deep and crystal clear. The sound quality is very impressive even when compared with Blue’s own Snowball which has served me well.

The instant mute button might be dismissed as nothing more than a nicety but for me it was a major advantage over the Blue Snowball. I spend many hours each week using online conferencing facilities such as Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro where, although software mute is provided, I have to click away from my demonstration to temporarily disable my microphone. The opportunity to simply click an easily accessible button is not only faster but will be less error prone when I have several applications vying for screen space.

Blue are making much of the fact that the Yeti is the world’s first THX Certified microphone. As the joint press release from Blue and THX put it:

“Yeti is the first microphone to offer the quality and range of versatility to produce best quality recordings in a wide range of situations, including podcasts, vocals, live or event recording, interviews, broadcasts, instruments, bands and more. low distortion, high fidelity, and balanced frequency response.”

I’m very pleased with my Blue Yeti so far and looking forward to putting it through it’s paces in the coming months with both existing commitments and some exciting new projects.

For those interested in such details the tech specs are below.

Technical Specifications

Microphone and Performance

• Power Required/Consumption: 5V 150mA
• Sample Rate: 48 kHz
• Bit Rate: 16bit
• Capsules: 3 Blue-proprietary 14mm condenser capsules
• Polar Patterns: Cardioid, Bidirectional, Omnidirectional, Stereo
• Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
• Sensitivity: 4.5mV/Pa (1 kHz)
• Max SPL: 120dB (THD: 0.5% 1kHz)

Headphone Amplifier

• Impedance:16 ohms
• Power Output (RMS): 130 mW
• THD: 0.009%
• Frequency Response: 15 Hz – 22 kHz
• Signal to Noise: 100dB

Specifications

• Dimensions (extended in stand): 4.72″ (12cm) x 4.92″(12.5cm) x 11.61″(29.5cm)
• Weight (microphone): 1.2 lbs (.55 kg)
• Weight (stand): 2.2 lbs (1 kg)

System Requirements

• PC: Windows 7, Windows Vista, XP Home Edition or XP Professional
• USB 1.1/2.0; 64 MB RAM (minimum)
• Macintosh: Mac OSX ( 10.4.11 or higher )
• USB 1.1/2.0
• 64 MB RAM (minimum)

Picture the scene it’s the Christmas gathering for all the local groups I’m involved in. All the guests either work in technology related areas or are keen technologists in their spare time. So imagine my surprise … no imagine my horror … when one of these folks came out with a declaration to the effect that; a phone’s a phone and a computer’s a computer, completely separate devices with separate functions and never should the twain meet!

His sentiments rendered me almost speechless.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse another guest supported the sentiments of the first and added to it. He explained that he’d bought a “hand held” device that proved to be an expensive waste of time as he’d never really used it.

So did they have a point? Have I been deluding myself for the last 18 months about the imperative that I believe my iPhone to be?

First, I must mention the term “hand held device”, an expression I hadn’t heard since my Windows days, it brought back memories of large clunky devices that cost the earth to connect to the Internet at speeds that would have shamed a 14.4 modem. Not to mention that it was navigated by squinting at an impossibly complex interface while stabbing a stylus at it hopeful of provoking it into some kind action.

I did have a Sony Clie and loved it. I used it to it’s full potential despite the pain of trying to get even the most basic of synchronization working and I used it right up to buying my iPhone.

I don’t think of my iPhone as a “hand held” computer, a second best device only to be used in dire emergencies when there’s no “real” computer available. In fact there are functions that I prefer to use iPhone applications for even when I’m sat in front of my 24 inch widescreen iMac and despite having 5 more than capable Macs within 10 metres of my desk.

Of course a social event isn’t the best place to vehemently expound the virtues of my iPhone. Actually, have you ever noticed how the naysayers are viewed as wise beyond their knowledge while those seeking to elucidate the benefits of some glorious piece of tech are scrutinized as if attempting to legitimizing the dirtiest of proclivities?

So through gritted teeth I managed a half smile and made all the appropriate noises about that being one point of view although it wasn’t mine … I was a model of tact and diplomacy

So the evening wore on and posterity demanded photos were required. The original miscreant explained that his magnificent DSLR kit was languishing at home due to it’s excessive weight and bulk. I wasn’t going to argue with that as so was mine! The difference was of course I had my iPhone … score 1!

As the quiz began so did the frantic Googling from said iPhone, we were doing rather well. The music section of the quiz followed and the second miscreant thought be had me on the ropes. From memory the quote went something like “Your fancy tech won’t help you here.”

Oh how wrong was he. Said music round involved identifying songs from only about 15 seconds of them. Yes it sounded like a job for Shazam to me as well. So without explanation I held the device up to the playing song and within a few seconds it had discovered all the necessary information and was happily flashing it in the unbelieving face of miscreant number two.

While he recovered himself I checked the traffic news and weather for a party goer who’s schedule demanded an early departure. An accident had closed the motorway and since she wasn’t local she knew of no alternative route. Of course there’s an app for that and within minutes she was on her way with instructions and screen shots of the alternative route e-mailed to her corporate issue Blackberry.

Miscreant number one’s other half was now more than interested in the iPhone and it’s capabilities. The exact words were “Why haven’t we got one of those?”. He played his trump card explaining that the iPhone was only available on O2 which didn’t have good coverage where he needed it. Knowing he was with Orange I casually dropped it’s availability via Orange into the conversation … let’s just say his next phone is looking like an iPhone!!

Aperture 3 was announced and released on 9 February 2010. The release coincided with the start of Macworld but Apple’s absence meant that the launch was without the fanfare reserved for Steve-notes.

I was eager enough to order online via the Apple Store immediately. Yes without even installing the trial. Of course installing the trial would have been much easier had Apple had the courtesy to send me the promised download link and serial number after I had duly completed the request form on their web site but let’s assume they were inundated and it’s non-appearance wasn’t anything personal!

The “over 200 new features” looked promising too. While some of these features were playing catch up to Lightroom others went beyond what is already in Lightroom 2 or promised for Lightroom 3. I also have clients using Aperture so not purchasing wasn’t really an option.

Some of the new features I was eagerly awaiting included the chromatic aberration filter to reduce the purple fringing found on many digital images and the halo reduction feature to further refine images. Non destructive brushes with edge detection also augured well for the future of my images.

The ability to segment libraries to facilitate a mobile workflow sounded genius as well. Even better the hived off library could have changes synched back to the main library. For those with huge libraries that alone would be worth the upgrade to version 3.

I was personally looking forward to testing the GPS import from iPhone photos. The idea being to use the iPhone images as GPS co-ordinate carriers for the DSLR images shot at the same location. I had tried doing this manually but quickly gave it up as too time consuming.

The smaller enhancements to the new version included the long awaited inclusion of coloured labels which brings Aperture more in to line with Lightroom which has had such taxonomy niceties since the very earliest betas of version 1.

Of less significance to me was the ability to catalog video files but with many cameras now supporting video it was a logical inclusion.

Anyway, enough of what might have been! The shrink wrapped box arrived on Friday, by the way cheers for the second class post Apple, and that was when things started to go downhill.

Installation was a breeze when compared to the hours it took me to install Final Cut Studio the day before. Sadly the elation of that installation was the high point of a very disappointing day.

On first run Aperture crashed.

Deeming it a blip I tried again and managed to get a little further. I could get to the Getting Started dialog box but none of the videos would play. Figuring I could worry about that later I copied the sample library catalog off the installation disc and set about investigating the new features.

First impression had to be just how slow it was running. Not just a little sluggish but direly slow. Clicking anything seemed to make Aperture slow to a crawl.

I managed to get a sample image loaded in and tried the new adjustment brushes. The results were very impressive but each brush stroke required over 30 seconds of processing.

Even using the loupe required an interminable wait while the image re-rendered.

A check of the Activity Monitor confirmed my intuition, the machine was being maxed out.

This is no underpowered machine either, it’s an early 2009 24 inch iMac with 4GB RAM and 3.06GHz processor.

I did all the right things: repairing permissions before and after install, repairing and rebuilding the library, creating a new library and even closing down all other applications. The outcome was the same each time Aperture slowed down to a crawl after varying amounts of time and/or processing.

Those few clients who tried the new version over the weekend have already been on the phone with corrupt catalogs, speed issues and are rolling back today.

With some software I wait to upgrade but I admit I expect better from Apple. At the very least I expect I won’t have to wait before enjoying the new features of a release that has been two years in the coming.

This version of Aperture doesn’t feel ready for release. I can’t use this in this state. I can’t recommend to clients that they risk their businesses using it either.

I didn’t take any consolation from not being alone in having serious issues with Aperture 3, reports are plentiful of major issues both from third party sites such as Gizmodo and TechTree as well as Apple’s own Aperture forums.

I sincerely hope Apple take on board the feedback and release updates as a matter of urgency that address the issues.

It’s instability isn’t as major an issue for me as it might be for some as I’ve always used both Aperture and Lightroom, yes together, and yes with the same images. I have a system in place where the images are referred on the hard drive rather than imported and it’s been working well for almost 4 years.

So in the meantime I’m using Lightroom 3 Beta, a product that clearly states it’s in beta and as such comes with all the usual caveats that status implies. However, it has not crashed once for me. I was sufficiently confident in it’s stability to do a live demonstration of it’s new features to my user group in January. It’s much faster than Lightroom 2, which was no slouch itself, and the new extensible architecture is heralding an exciting future for a product that holds a special place in my heart for bringing me to the Mac platform way back in the days of the beta of version 1.