Like many people, I resisted Farmville for the longest time. I felt it was ruining Facebook, and wasn’t all that keen on Facebook to start with. But when Farmville was released for the iPhone, I figured I’d give it a go. I will say one thing – it’s beautiful. And it does take advantage of the persistent state offered by iOS4. Unfortunately, it is in a persistent state even when you’ve closed it down. It doesn’t sync properly with the web version – which you are forced to use in order to really take advantage of the game. For instance, you can’t look inside your barn or beehive...


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Yes, you knew I’d have to go here eventually. And I truly understand the fanaticism for the iPad. But I must also admit that it answers none of my needs. I don’t commute, nor am I a frequent flyer, and these seem to be the main factor for those who can truly rationalize iPad ownership. That being said, let’s move on and look at it the way I have for the last month. As you can see, the horizontal/diagonal dimensions are close, with the iPad actually being a bit larger. The netbook (an MSI Wind with a 6 cell battery) fits in my purse better due to it being just slightly smaller width-wise....


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Since the Spirit jailbreak was released 2 short weeks ago, I have had a great time jailbreaking other people's iPhones. Once my students discovered that I could do it, and was willing to do it...they started popping out of the woodworks. Teenagers whose names I didn't know, whose faces were largely unfamiliar to me, were showing up at my door between classes asking if I would jailbreak their phones. My own students would show up for classes and start with the old line "I have this friend..." and hand me an iPhone. I have then been amused as, with few exceptions, they look at their newly jailbroken...


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Diana McDonough was once a staunch Palm user, but has started flirting with many other hand-held operating systems and devices. Read what she has to say! Well, I've had my Palm Pre for five months now.  After that amount of time, here's how I feel about the device. All in all, I LOVE WebOS.  It's simplicity and native integration with Facebook and Google are not to be beat.  The OS is exceptionally stable.  In the time I've had it, it has only spontaneously rebooted twice.  The text messaging app integrates with GoogleTalk and AIM all in one.  Hooking the device up to a USB cord on the PC turns...


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Iliumsoft has announced a business model that I really like. “Because when you buy or upgrade eWallet, it's for you, not your device.” How can you not like that?! Especially in this mobile world where many of us are constantly switching from and between iPhone, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and more – this is a move that some other companies should heed. (Are you listening, Iambic? WebIS? Kinoma?) I’ve told you about eWallet in the past (eWallet for iPhone, eWallet for Windows Mobile), and the app itself just gets better. They’ve recently updated to version 7, and added lots of new features....


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Do you hate to let other people handle your iPhone? I do. And not always because I’m afraid someone will drop or damage it. Sometimes I just worry about how healthy it is when everyone is handing the same thing. Apparently our friends at Proporta have had the same thoughts, and decided to do something about it. Proporta’s new SteriTouch silicone case is advertised as including an antimicrobial agent. While I won’t pretend to be a scientist, or even understand the scientific principles behind it, this is what they told me: The case incorporates a silver based antimicrobial additive, which...


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A few exceptional apps were brought to my attention, but there are literally hundreds out there. Check these out, and save a few bucks today! Mail Notifier is 50% off (from $3.99 to $1.99) and Textnow is 80% off (from $4.99 to $0.99) Mail Notifier: iTunes Store Textnow: iTunes Store ReaddleDocs -2.99$ (complete file management solution) FlashDrive - 2.99$ Take a Note - 2.99$ (gorgeous notifier) OneDisk - 2.99$ PDF Expert - 2.99$ Scanner PRO - 4.99$ (converts your iPhone into a portable scanner) And here’s a website that’s already done the work and has an extremely comprehensive...


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The same settings, lighting. Only point and shoot. No attempt at focus. I tried to hold the 4 devices in as close to the same position as possible while still just fitting the subject in the frame. Hold your mouse over each photo to see which device took which photo: iPhone, Pre, HTC Diamond 2, HTC Touch Pro 2. I want to hear your opinions on the photos. The only comments I’ll make are that the Diamond 2, with its 5 megapixel camera took much longer to “develop” the photo than did the other 3 devices. Tapping the screens of all but the Pre took the picture...


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Back in May of 2008, I wrote a little review of YouMail after talking with Alex Quilici at CTIA. (See my video interview here.) While I have mostly gotten over the amusement of having 27 personal greetings, I still think that YouMail is one of the greatest free services out there for cell phone users. Quick feature rundown: See a list of your messages and scroll and listen to voicemail on your phone, online or email Save your voicemails forever and share with anyone Greet callers by name or assign different greetings to different callers Block unknown and unwanted callers Never...


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Not really Art. Art, after all, is my father. And this is all about my son, David. David has had an iPhone since the 2nd day of its original release. And I have made fun of him, and given him heck since then. I have recently apologized, and we are both enjoying the iPhone 3GS. In the meanwhile, I'd also like to point out that David is one of the few people in the world that I have always understood and accepted using a Mac. I've always felt that Macs were for graphics and music, and that those of us who are not artistically inclined should really stick with Windows. Although by day David...


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