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Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
#35718 08/24/15 04:26 PM
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grelber Offline OP
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A currently airing TV commercial with the tag line If it's not an iPhone, it's not an iPhone points up that there are over 1.5 million apps for same.
How is that an incentive to go for an iPhone?
Even if one could view, make an assessment of and then download (not to speak of learning how to use) any given app — let's say in (a wholly unrealistic 10 seconds per app — it would take at least 15 million seconds = 250,000 minutes = 4167 hours = 174 days = ca half a year of nothing but checking out the apps!
Chances are you'd be dead or insane before you could figure out which apps would be appropriate for your purposes. And then what use would your iPhone be or if would even still be current?!
And that doesn't even cover what it'd cost you in the interim.
Good deal? I think not!
Life is too short for an iPhone. (Ambiguity intended.]

Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35722 08/24/15 04:59 PM
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Quote:
Even if one could view, make an assessment of and then download (not to speak of learning how to use) any given app — let's say in (a wholly unrealistic 10 seconds per app — it would take at least 15 million seconds = 250,000 minutes = 4167 hours = 174 days = ca half a year of nothing but checking out the apps!

There are way too many books for getting a library card to make sense!



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Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
dkmarsh #35724 08/24/15 05:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: dkmarsh
There are way too many books for getting a library card to make sense!

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/2186156246/realmindblowing.jpg


I work for the Department of Redundancy Department
Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
dkmarsh #35729 08/24/15 07:39 PM
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grelber Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: dkmarsh
There are way too many books for getting a library card to make sense!


Bad analogy. If one already knows how to read, then selecting books, either specifically or generically, which intrigue one isn't an insurmountable hassle. Choosing apps, many of which are arcane, is a whole nother kettle of fish.
As an aside: I don't even know and haven't bothered to investigate all the apps which came with my iMac running Lion. From all I can tell, it'd take years to figure how to work them. I ain't interested in wasting my time like that.

Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35731 08/24/15 09:42 PM
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There are way too many roads to buy a car and learn how to drive!



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Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
dkmarsh #35733 08/24/15 10:18 PM
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grelber Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: dkmarsh
There are way too many roads to buy a car and learn how to drive!

Again, IMHO, a bad analogy.
The roads are "known" and "understood", even without a car or knowing how to drive.
Apps ain't ... known, intuitive, etc. (I'm not referring to mindless apps such as Candy Crush and its ilk, which even morons can intuit. But I have no interest in such things.)
And just a casual perusal of these forums indicates that many cognoscenti who've learned how to "drive" them find it hard to comprehend and cope with their "rules of the road."

Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35736 08/24/15 11:33 PM
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Quote:
The roads are "known" and "understood", even without a car or knowing how to drive.

Not to one whose date of birth renders him or her developmentally incapable of "knowing" and "understanding." In the case of roads, that would be an infant. In the case of apps...maybe the other end of the range?

wink

I agree that a cornucopia of apps is insufficient incentive for one otherwise disinclined to buy an iPhone. I was incentivized (if I may be forgiven that participlation) to buy one to accomplish certain specific functions, the carrying out of which mandated that I slog through the app store offerings in search of appropriate solutions. The same profusion that makes the search so cumbersome is what makes it possible to find, at least in some cases, exactly what you're looking for. The biggest problem is the interface provided for doing so.



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Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35740 08/25/15 12:42 AM
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Grelber we are getting old and it all too easy to forget that kids entering college today…
  • have never licked a postage stamp
  • have grown up treating WiFi as an entitlement
  • the announcement of someone being the 'First woman" to hold a position has only impressed their parents
  • Kyoto has always symbolized inactivity about global climate change
  • The Lion King has always been on broadway
  • TV has always had such high definition they see the pores of actors and the grimaces of quarterbacks
  • the therapeutic use of marijuana has always been legal in a growing number of states
  • have avidly joined Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione as they built their reading skills through seven volumes
  • Google has always been there, in its founding words, "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible.
  • Add to that a growing number of young adults are choosing not to own automobiles and neither know nor care about the "rules of the road".

You may not care about 1.5 million apps for the iPhone/iPad or the over 1 million apps for the mac, but you do not represent the target market — they do. A large number of those apps are essential tools used in our modern world. I just had a new lawn sprinkler system controller installed today at my house and there is no way to either control or program it other than through the app on my iPhone/iPad.

Last edited by joemikeb; 08/25/15 03:35 PM.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
dkmarsh #35743 08/25/15 05:21 AM
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I just knew we were on the same side. smile

Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
joemikeb #35744 08/25/15 05:31 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
... [It's all too] easy to forget that kids entering college today ...

I know. I keep bumping into them — more correctly, they keep bumping into me — because they are so absorbed in their mobile devices that they don't pay attention to the world around them.

Originally Posted By: joemikeb
You may not care about 1.5 million apps for the iPhone/iPad or the over 1 million apps for the mac, but you do not represent the target market — they do. A large number of those apps are essential tools used in our modern world. I just had a new lawn sprinkler system controller installed today at my house and there is no way to either control or program it other than through the app on my iPhone/iPad.

And this is a real cause for worry. Intellect, not algorithm, should control the world. As I recall, the first story in the first issue of Mad magazine back in the '50s was titled "Hoo hah" and dealt with this problem. Prescience, thy name is satire. {sigh}

Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35745 08/25/15 06:13 AM
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Originally Posted By: grelber
Originally Posted By: joemikeb
... [It's all too] easy to forget that kids entering college today ...

I know. I keep bumping into them — more correctly, they keep bumping into me — because they are so absorbed in their mobile devices that they don't pay attention to the world around them.

Sooner or later, failing to yield the right of way to a distracted texter is going to be criminalized, and resultant damage to a mobile device will likely be a capital (Choose your own definition. grin ) offense. (Actually, I've found them to be astonishingly good at detecting my presence and getting out of my way before I mow them down.)

A note about iPhone apps... You may not know that many of them are very specific and narrow-purposed...flashlights, train, bus, and ferry schedules, access to radio stations, a gazillion others...not at all what you likely think of as an app, and requiring almost zero skill, knowledge, or intuition to use. Watching others use their iPhones has given me the impression that many "apps" are little more than pre-packaged results of (what would otherwise be) Google searches.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
artie505 #35746 08/25/15 06:35 AM
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grelber Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: artie505
A note about iPhone apps... You may not know that many of them are very specific and narrow-purposed...flashlights, train, bus, and ferry schedules, access to radio stations, a gazillion others...not at all what you likely think of as an app, and requiring almost zero skill, knowledge, or intuition to use. Watching others use their iPhones has given me the impression that many "apps" are little more than pre-packaged results of (what would otherwise be) Google searches.

Of course one has to know a priori that such apps exist in order to search for them. Who in their right mind would expect to find an app that turns a phone into a flashlight?!

Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35747 08/25/15 11:23 AM
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Quote:
Who in their right mind would expect to find an app that turns a phone into a flashlight?!

1. Anyone who's ever noticed that a cellphone whose display is activated in a dark room casts an appreciable glow upon his or her surroundings;
2. Anyone who's ever been with a smartphone owner who has deployed such an app.

That ain't a small group, and the fact that it's grelber-free doesn't make it the exclusive province of idiots. (Unless you're using an exceptionally broad definition of idiot!)



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Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35748 08/25/15 12:58 PM
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Originally Posted By: grelber
Of course one has to know a priori that such apps exist in order to search for them. Who in their right mind would expect to find an app that turns a phone into a flashlight?!

Actually an app is no longer needed in the current versions of iOS. That particular functionality is now built into iOS 8 and 9 and uses the LED that is intended as a "flash" for the camera. Simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access the flashlight, camera, calculator, and timer. Flashlight is a frequently used function.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
joemikeb #35749 08/25/15 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Flashlight is a frequently used function.

Tho I still keep my Cree 1W in my pocket and use it almost daily


I work for the Department of Redundancy Department
Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
dkmarsh #35751 08/25/15 02:09 PM
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Originally Posted By: dkmarsh
Quote:
Who in their right mind would expect to find an app that turns a phone into a flashlight?!

1. Anyone who's ever noticed that a cellphone whose display is activated in a dark room casts an appreciable glow upon his or her surroundings;
2. Anyone who's ever been with a smartphone owner who has deployed such an app.
That ain't a small group, and the fact that it's grelber-free doesn't make it the exclusive province of idiots. (Unless you're using an exceptionally broad definition of idiot!)

The operant word is expect — not desire or deploy. I might think that such an app (whether needed now or not) would be a desideratum, but I wouldn't a priori guess that such might be available and therefore go looking for such.

Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
joemikeb #35753 08/25/15 02:40 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Grelber we are getting old and it all to easy to forget that kids entering college today…

• have never licked a postage stamp
• have grown up treating WiFi as an entitlement
• Snip last 8 points….substitute et cetera.

You make 10 good points but I think you could add #11. This may be the first generation not to know what it means to be alone with their thoughts.

We grew up knowing what it means to drive a car or go for a walk without a companion, or without inevitable electronic interruption. This generation doesn't and I'm not sure this is a particularly good development.

It can be argued that they could just "turn it off" but, from what I've witnessed, most young people would view the off status as unimaginable.

Last edited by ryck; 08/25/15 02:45 PM.

ryck

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Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35755 08/25/15 03:33 PM
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Originally Posted By: grelber
[The operant word is expect — not desire or deploy. I might think that such an app (whether needed now or not) would be a desideratum, but I wouldn't a priori guess that such might be available and therefore go looking for such.

How well organized the 1,500,000 iPhone apps are in the App Store is arguable, but Apple does a good job of identifying and highlighting new useful apps. I have found at least a couple that I did not know I needed and I was not looking for until Apple highlighted them on the App Store and have since become absolutely invaluable to me.

The most obvious example of such an app is Evernote®. I did not know I needed it. I could not even envision how I might use it. Now it is the key element in my workflow and records management.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
dkmarsh #35756 08/25/15 04:17 PM
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Originally Posted By: dkmarsh
I was incentivized (if I may be forgiven that participlation)


I hate when people verbize nouns! smirk


On a Mac since 1984.
Currently: 24" M1 iMac, M2 Pro Mac mini with 27" BenQ monitor, M2 Macbook Air, MacOS 14.x; iPhones, iPods (yes, still) and iPads.
Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35758 08/25/15 04:20 PM
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Originally Posted By: grelber
The operant word is expect — not desire or deploy. I might think that such an app (whether needed now or not) would be a desideratum, but I wouldn't a priori guess that such might be available and therefore go looking for such.


I think the phrase "there's an app for that" is quite pervasive and true. Pretty much anything one can think of probably has an app related to, derived from and/or associated with it.

Of course this does not mean they are all quality apps, let alone needed apps. But my point is, you can a priori guess that such might be available.


On a Mac since 1984.
Currently: 24" M1 iMac, M2 Pro Mac mini with 27" BenQ monitor, M2 Macbook Air, MacOS 14.x; iPhones, iPods (yes, still) and iPads.
Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
Ira L #35759 08/25/15 04:26 PM
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Originally Posted By: Ira L
I think the phrase "there's an app for that" is quite pervasive and true.
Truer than you think. How about sleep deprivation? There's a nap for that. grin


Jon

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Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
jchuzi #35760 08/25/15 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted By: jchuzi
How about sleep deprivation? There's a nap for that. grin

Induced, no doubt, by one of the dozens of calming background sound generating apps...



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Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
grelber #35762 08/25/15 05:29 PM
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The point of an app store with millions of apps is that the store is a buffet. You're not required to take one of everything; if you don't like pork, you don't have to sample any of the pork dishes on offer.

The point is there is such a rich collection of apps available that any time you find yourself wondering if you can get your phone to do some task, the odds are good the answer is "yes." Instead of searching through the store looking at every program, you say "huh, I wish I had an app to log mileage on my car for work, wonder if it exists?" And you go onto the app store, search for "mileage logger," and sure enough, the answer is "yes."


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Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
joemikeb #35763 08/25/15 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
The most obvious example of such an app is Evernote®. I did not know I needed it. I could not even envision how I might use it. Now it is the key element in my workflow and records management.

Cool. cool

Re: Wanna iPhone? Don't think so.
Ira L #35764 08/25/15 06:05 PM
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Originally Posted By: Ira L
I think the phrase "there's an app for that" is quite pervasive and true. Pretty much anything one can think of probably has an app related to, derived from and/or associated with it.
Of course this does not mean they are all quality apps, let alone needed apps. But my point is, you can a priori guess that such might be available.

Good points ... as long as the available apps are generically searchable, which apparently they are.

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