Geek Swagger.
Reading
Thoughts on Amazon’s Kindle Fire
Jan 8th
Back in June 2010, while rumors were circulating that Amazon was developing a tablet device, I wrote a post which suggested that they would be the only company that could create a product to successfully compete with Apple’s iPad. My reasoning was that they were successfully developing a content atmosphere with products like Amazon MP3, Video on Demand and the Amazon App Store with its free app of the day that would compare to Apple’s digital hub. Now that I’ve used the Kindle Fire for a couple weeks I figured I’d share my thoughts about whether Apple should be worried or not.
Hardware
When I first pulled my Kindle Fire out of its box I have to admit that it was bulkier than I expected. Although I owned the first generation of the iPad, I had long since sold it, and so my closest frame of reference was my iPhone 4S. That’s probably not a fair comparison, but I’ll just say the Kindle Fire felt thicker than it should be, at least initially. Over time I’ve gotten used to the heft of the device and, now that I’ve used it for a while, I’m fairly comfortable with holding it.
One way that the Kindle Fire does compare to the iPad is its monolithic form factor with a lack of many physical buttons. The only button you’ll find on the device is located on the bottom bezel next to its charging and syncing port. I have noticed that the location of the button plus the device’s smaller form factor has caused me to accidentally push it (which causes the device to lock) while I’m holding it in portrait orientation from time to time. That issue is only mildly annoying and probably more of a matter of training myself to place my hands further from the center of the device while using it. Over time I’ve noticed the accidental device locks have been less frequent.
The form factor itself has been surprisingly useable. The only other tablet I’ve ever used for a substantial amount of time is the Apple iPad, so I’m used to a larger device. With that said, I think I prefer the smaller Kindle Fire in some cases, most of all for portability. It has also been more condusive to browsing the mobile web without feeling like I’m using a site designed for a significantly smaller device, and that carries over to using apps designed for phones rather than tablets. When using the iPad’s zoom feature to view iPhone apps on it, I always felt like I was using a Fisher Price version of the app (buttons and other UI elements were blown up and felt cumbersome). The Kindle Fire splits the difference however, which means that phone apps work just fine on the somewhat-larger display.
One last potential issue I’ve noticed with the Kindle Fire is that the display does tend to have some temporary ghosting. Every now and then I notice ghosted elements of a different application or of user interface elements that are on the screen frequently. It’s not a huge issue and the ghosting goes away, but it might bug some users. I think it’s important to remember that this device only costs $199 when nitpicking such issues, and when you take that into consideration I honestly think any slight ghosting isn’t a deal-breaker if you’re interested in the Kindle Fire. Additionally, since my Kindle Fire was purchased very early in the device’s life cycle, that issue might be resolved or could be a manufacturing glitch specific to my device. With that said, the problem isn’t significant enough for me to consider returning it for a replacement device.
Apps, Media & Web Browsing
Consuming content on the Kindle Fire is a joy. Because I’m an Amazon Prime member and have used Amazon’s various content services before, all I had to do was login to my Amazon account and I had instant access to my entire music library through Amazon MP3, all of the apps I had downloaded from the Amazon App Store, and all of the books I had purchased through Amazon’s Kindle app. Best of all, access to all of my content was instant because it’s all stored in the cloud so I didn’t have to spend hours syncing everything to the device.
Listening to music on the Kindle Fire through the cloud works well over wifi. I’ve experienced issues with their mobile app for phones such as my previous Motorola Droid X, where-in streaming over a 3G connection produced a lot of time spent buffering. That hasn’t been my experience on the Kindle Fire, however. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m using a more solid wifi connection, but playback has been fairly instant and I haven’t run into the same buffering problem. At this point I haven’t felt the need to sync any of my music to my device which is a testament to the playback from the cloud. If you’re planning on using your Kindle to listen to music I would recommend investing in a decent pair of headphones though, as the internal speaker isn’t anything to write home about.
When I had an iPad my primary reading app was iBooks, but having read on the Kindle Fire I’m happy to say that it’s just as readable if not more so. You have many of the same options as with iBooks, including changing the background color of your book, how big or small the font size is, and the style of font you prefer to read. The reader also has a slew of other handy features, like the ability to search a book or document, make notes and of course leave a bookmark. Navigating pages is pretty simple, just a tap on the left or right side of the screen to move backward or forward a page, or you can swipe your finger across the page to replicate the page turning experience, though it’s not as elegant as the page turn in iBooks (but now I’m just splitting hairs).
The Amazon app store, though easy to use, does leave something to be desired. Although I’m sure the selection will improve over time, the amount of apps developed specifically for the Kindle Fire is lacking right now. There isn’t a great Twitter or Facebook client available yet, though simple apps which link to each service’s mobile website (think more of a bookmark) are available. It has been nice to revisit my collection of Amazon apps that I had on my old Droid X though, and like I mentioned previously even apps developed for phones specifically work pretty well on this device.
Between the Amazon video on demand software and the Netflix app, if you’re looking to watch video on the Kindle Fire you should be pleasantly surprised. Video streams very well in my experience, even when skipping around a video by scrubbing through its timeline. I can’t say a whole lot about the quality because I’m far from a videophile, but for a device this small I haven’t been let down at all. It’s definitely watchable, though I’d recommend some headphones because the sound volume is a bit low at times.
My time spent using the Kindle Fire has re-introduced me to the mobile web in a way. To make up for the fact that I don’t have a great Twitter or Facebook app yet, I’ve been using both services’ mobile sites more. Additionally, to speed up the Fire’s Silk browser I’ve defaulted to a site’s mobile version whenever possible. This doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the Kindle Fire specifically, I have to admit that browsing the mobile web is often an enjoyable experience so don’t rule it out if you’re without an app! Most major websites have put a lot of time and thought into their mobile site, and you can usually complete the same tasks as you can with a full website or app. With that said, I have noticed that the Silk browser is a bit pokey at times. There are already guides on the web for settings you can change to speed up the browser, but by default it’s a little slow. I’m sure that Amazon will fix that issue with a future software update, though.
Recommendation
Overall, I’d have to recommend Amazon’s Kindle Fire. For a mere $199 it’s a heck of a package if you want easy access to your content collection. As is the case with most consumer electronic devices there are some imperfections in software this early in the product lifecycle, but many of those will be fixed in time. It’s hard to argue with a device that offers a lot of the great tablet experience I’ve enjoyed with the iPad at a price point that’s less than half that of the cheapest Apple model. The good news is that these things are flying off the shelf, so if you’re curious about the Kindle Fire just ask a friend or go try one out at a store!
“Crush It!” by Gary Vaynerchuk
Jan 11th
If you've liked any of the posts I've put up in the past week and a half I must confess that they're mostly a result of me reading this book. In "Crush It!" Gary Vaynerchuk explains how he became an all-star on the web and catapulted his wine business at the same time. The point of the book truly is to explain how important your personal brand is in the age of the web, and more importantly, why now is the best time to work on pursuing a career you love by solidifying your brand with all of the great (and free) communication tools the internet provides.
Vay • Ner • Chuk
It's true, I was a Gary Vee fan well before I read his book. It probably all goes back to some appearances he had on the Diggnation or TWiT podcasts, but since then I have followed his video podcast Gary's one of those guys with enough raw passion that no matter what he's talking about you want to shut up and listen, so don't be surprised if, even though you could care less about wine, you end up watching multiple episodes of WineLibrary.
More importantly though, Gary isn't a traditional geek. Instead, he's a really smart businessman that recognized the huge amount of potential the web provided and in turn used it to introduce a whole new generation of people to wine. What is the first thing you picture when you think of a wine connoisseur? For me it was always a stuffy monopoly-man looking old dude with a condescending accent sipping $1,000 bottles of something that I probably thought tasted terrible. Gary's the exact opposite of that. He likes football, listens to hip hop and rocks Thundercats action figures. More importantly he'll tell you when a $10 bottle of wine will rock your world, and when a $100 bottle sucks. By sharing his passionate and refreshing take on the world of wine Gary's business has "crushed it," and that's exactly what the book is all about.
The Death of the Resumé
The most important thing I learned while reading "Crush It!" was how important a person's own personal brand is in the era of Facebook, Twitter, handheld HD camcorders and podcasting. Everyone has such a huge opportunity now with all of the free tools available to share your thoughts and ideas, and very soon (if this hasn't happened already) your creative pursuits on the web will hold precedence over even the most killer resumé.
Not only that but if you truly work your tail off to establish your brand in whatever field you're most-passionate about, you can earn a considerable living doing something you love. When it comes to this blog I'm certainly not trying to quit my day job, but I've used it to potentially boost awareness about my true passions (you only have to look as far as the main navigation of this site to see what those are). "Crush It!" inspired me to work towards some new promotional initiatives that I'm not quite ready to talk about here, and overall it gave me a lot of great ideas about how to innovate during this crappy economy.
"Crush It!" is a pretty quick read (I knocked it out in a couple of nights, a triumph as I'm usually a slow reader) and there's an enhanced edition available that contains video segments that are pretty awesome. I read it in the iPad and I wish more books would take cues from the "vook" approach. Gary also has a new book coming soon called "" that you might want to take a look at, I know I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy!
Thoughts on The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
Jan 2nd
I recently finished by , and I feel somewhat obligated to put my thoughts into a blog post. I've been extremely hesitant to write this post only because I'm so inexperienced in the field and one knowledgeable person could come along and rip me to shreds with a few keystrokes. I also think that in many ways I'm biased in that I make my living from developing websites and applications that are precisely the culprit of the dramatic changes the internet are having on our brains (which I in no way refute, by the way).
My Understanding of Neuroplasticity
Basically, The Shallows details neuroplasticity, which I am now going to try to (and probably fail to) define. In essence neuroplasticity is how our brains are able to be bent and molded by our environment to more efficiently adapt to our current situation. Think of it as adaptation of the brain. In some cases the process can be relatively slow (weeks, months, even years), but scientists have proven that the "circuitry" in our brains can be reworked to operate more efficiently.
One example provided in the book was blindness. Say for instance someone becomes blind, it isn't uncommon for that person's other senses to become more precise, to be honed to compensate for the lack of vision. This is a really stupid example but if you've ever seen the movie , in which Jamie Foxx plays the blind musician Ray Charles, there's a scene in which Ray is sitting down to dinner with a woman and he mentions a hummingbird outside. The woman wasn't aware of the hummingbird, but Ray says that he can actually hear its wings fluttering. Presumably in this fictional scenario Ray's auditory senses have been increased because the synapses in his brain have been "rerouted," that is to say more of the brain's processing power has been directed to hearing. When Ray lost his vision the part of his brain that usually accepts and processes visual information didn't just die, it was instead repurposed to help Ray process information in other ways.
Now apply neuroplasticity to the average person that is exposed to information on the internet. We read facebook status updates, tweets, have message alerts on our phones, new email message alerts on our computers, we have RSS feeds that alert us whenever our favorite sites post a new article and so on. This is a huge departure from older forms of information consumption, where-in someone might sit down a read a newspaper or book. As a result, our brain is "adapting" to being constantly bombarded with small nuggets of information.
Information ADD
So what's the result? In affect, our brains have become like hummingbirds jumping from one flower bud to the next. We struggle with longer-form reading. I'll be the first to admit it, much of the time when I'm researching on the internet I won't read an entire article, I'll instead scan for the information that's useful to me, or even jump to the bottom of a blog post to find relevant links to downloads or other information.
Additionally, because information is so readily available on the internet our brains are learning to focus more on information acquisition than retention. Why, for instance, should your brain retain what the capital of The Netherlands is if you can find out in a matter of seconds by searching on Wikipedia? Again, I'm also at fault here. If I know I can easily regain access to information on the web I'm less likely to actually focus on memorization or retention.
Is This Bad?
So far you're probably thinking that I ate this book up and that I agree with everything found within, and truthfully I do agree with most of it, and I definitely agree that neuroplasticity is a real thing that is affecting users of the web. However, unlike Nicholas Carr, I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. In one section of the book he discusses what might be filling our memory if not facts that we need to perform well in school, or at our job. I think that is an extremely interesting question - what if rather than filling our memories with facts, we had the ability to more accurately retain our life experiences? It could be that a lot of nonsense would be easily recalled but in ways I'd rather remember the things I do on a daily basis than what the capital of an obscure country that I'll probably never visit is.
I know that the web is changing the way we think and learn. I also know that most college courses are still being taught via lectures, a thousand year old method. Although I can understand that there is a value associated with deep reading and deep thought, I highly doubt that folks are going to throw away their computers or phones anytime soon to return to books as a primary source of information. There's an incredible opportunity for someone to come up with a new way of teaching that plays to our new way of taking in information, and I'm sure that will happen sometime soon. In my opinion this change is not bad, will not lead to the end of creative thinking, and will not make us a bunch of brain-heads living in filled vats hooked intravenously to the Intertron™ of the future. We will instead focus on content that is more valuable in order to work our ways to the same product more quickly. Will it have a negative impact on our intellectual blossoming as an individual? Probably. Will we care? Probably not, and folks that do will turn to traditional sources of information to have that experience.
