Gregory Harbin, Foreigner

When I go back to America, I don’t want to buy an iPhone. I want a phone that’s small—the size of Microsoft’s Kin 1. I don’t want to buy a bunch of voice minutes I’ll never use. I don’t want to be locked into a contract. I want a Wi-Fi hotspot for all my gadgets. And mostly, I don’t want to pay for a phone overloaded with features just so I can have an interface that works.

A year ago, when it came time for me to buy a phone in Japan, the obvious choice was an iPhone. Sure, it came with a two year contract, but in exchange, I paid nothing upfront, and have gotten steady service for around $60 a month. I hardly ever use voice minutes, which is good, because I have to pay for any I use. My data is unlimited, and ratchets down if I use less than a certain (admittedly confusing) number of packets, which I occasionally do. This is working out pretty well. So why do I want to change things up when I go to the States?

The main answer is that I purchased an iPad. When it was all I had, the iPhone was a fantastic touch device. I could surf the web, use applications, take photos, and, oh yeah, occasionally make phone calls. But now, web surfing feels slow. Applications feel tiny. I use my digicam and the camera connection kit for photos. And when I actually want to make a phone call, I have to find the app amongst an array of others. The main use for my iPhone these days? Tweeting, when I’m feeling too lazy to pull my iPad out of its bag.

What I really need is a phone that does only what I need it to do. When I want to make a call, I want to make it easily. When it sits in my pocket, I don’t want it taking up a bunch of space. I want it to feel speedy. I want its battery to last all day. And I want it to serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot when I’m not at home or the office.

This theoretical phone would probably be a slider. The iPhone feels big in my pocket, even though it’s rather thin. I like the size of Microsoft’s Kin 1, but I don’t like the UI. It’s trying to be more of a phone than it really can be. I don’t need all the Facebook integration, I just want to make phone calls, and maybe send a text or two. I think QWERTY is a little more than I need, too. Just give me a ten-key numpad with nice big squishy keys. I can take it from there.

And because the point of a phone is to connect to a 3G network, I want to be able to rely on it for all my data needs, no matter what device I’m using. There’s no reason to pay an extra $130 for the 3G iPad for a radio that I have to carry with me anyway. The same is true of those adorable MiFi (compact wireless router) devices, which want me to pay an extra $60 a month and give me yet another device to carry around. Just put a Wi-Fi antenna in my phone. My jail-broken Japanese iPhone can do it—just don’t tell SoftBank. One switch, and I’ve got a 30-foot circle of 3G-powered Wi-Fi.

Price is an issue, but not as much as you might think. I don’t mind paying for my data, as long as I’m not paying over and over again for the same data. AT&T’s new data pricing makes sense to me. They’re charging $25 for 2GB per month, and then $10 for each gig after that. If I’m using more than 2GB per month, I just need to stop downloading so much video. What guts me is the $20 charge to tether. And then, they don’t even allow Wi-Fi tethering to several devices, but only single-device USB or Bluetooth tethering. That’s just silly. I want a MiFi that works as a phone, with a sensible data plan. Is that too much to ask?

And I don’t want a contract, either. It makes sense when I’m buying an iPhone, which has an expensive screen, gobs of flash storage, a powerful processor, and a camera. I’m stuck with AT&T for two uninterrupted years, in exchange for getting a $599 phone subsidized down to $199. But what I want isn’t $599, it’s at most $199, and better yet $99. It sits in my pocket, and is barely thought of, except when I need to make a phone call, or I briefly forget why my iPad is always connected to the Internet.

Is there hope for me? I see that Google’s new mobile OS, Froyo, has tethering built in, but I don’t want to buy an expensive, top-of-the-line Android phone like the Evo 4G or the Incredible just to have it be ignored. But consumer devices like the Kin also leave me cold, overcharging for data and voice, not offering tethering, and including a bunch of social networking features I don’t need or want.

Faced with the prospect of overpaying, I’m just going to buy a pay-as-you go burner phone, relying on Wi-Fi where I can find it. But I’ll be on the lookout for a phone that doesn’t get bogged down with extra features, remembers it’s just a glorified 3G radio, and simply fulfills a phone’s core purpose: to connect me with the rest of the world.

Gregory Uncategorized

10. 2012

A very fun action movie with a surprisingly interesting plot. Certainly better than Emmerich’s other disaster films, mainly because of John Cusack and Woody Harrelson, who was great in a film that got left off this list, Zombieland.

9. Up

Not my favorite Pixar film, but Up is really moving, and I love the characters, especially the dog. I really feel this movie should have been live action, but it works as it is. Hope they make a sequel.

8. Julie and Julia

Meryl Streep does a phenomenal job playing Julia Child, and all of her scenes are just delightful. The rest of the movie is a bit dull, and drags on a bit, but overall, it’s very worth seeing.

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Newcomer director Mike Newell did a great job with the sixth book. It’s one of my favorite of the films so far, and I’m very glad he’s working on the final two films.

6. Watchmen

The book is certainly better, but the movie captures the spirit, if not enough of the letter, of what I liked from it. It’s an almost perfect cast, too. Change the ending, and this would be higher on my list.

5. The Hurt Locker

This placement is all about (Nathan Fillion lookalike) Jeremy Renner’s fantastic performance as a military contractor I’m not quite sure we’re ever supposed to like, but possibly, by the end, we understand. A very gripping movie, but the reason to see this is the lead.

4. Star Trek

Shaky-cam aside, this is the best Star Trek to date. It does a really good job of setting up the universe for a 21st century franchise. I just hope the next one can calm down on the lens flares and camera blurs.

3. Avatar

Clearly the best big-budget film of the year. Avatar, especially in 3D, draws you in and never lets go. We’ll have to see if it still works on the small screen, but if it makes a billion dollars worldwide and brings in a boat of Oscars, I won’t complain.

2. Inglorious Basterds

This isn’t the movie I thought it was going to be from the previews, and I’m still not quite sure what to think, but I know that it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen all year, and probably all decade (that list is coming soon). Brad Pitt is hardly in it, which is fine. The diverse cast is one that has to be watched, and an early scene between (hopeful Supporting Actor Oscar winner) Christoph Weitz and a French farmowner has to be seen.

1. Moon

Moon! I knew I loved Sam Rockwell, and this movie just proves it even more. Avoid all spoilers before seeing it, although certainly, knowing what happens is not going to completely ruin what makes this my favorite film of the year, which is Rockwell’s amazing, amazing performance. And to think it was made for only $5 million!

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Every year, Steve Jobs keynotes a special event in which new Apple products, especially iPods, are announced, and usually released. Here’s my predictions for this year, with my expected probabilities:

1. G5 iPod nano (99%)
Lower prices (85%): 8GB $99; 16GB $149; 32GB $199
480×270, 16:9 screen (75%)
720p video playback and output (75%)
Built-in camera (50%)
Wi-fi (33%)
Wireless syncing (20%)

2. G3 iPod touch (99%)
Lower prices (85%): 16GB $199; 32GB $299; 64GB $399
Built-in camera (80%)
Enhanced Wi-fi with draft-n support (50%)
Wireless syncing (33%)
570×320, 16:9 screen (20%)

3. 7G iPod classic (75%)
More capacity (75%): 160GB $249
Lower price (25%): 120GB $199
Nothing else interesting (90%)

4. 3G Apple TV (60%)
More capacity (75%): 500GB $249, 1TB $349
Built into Apple-branded HDTVs (33%)
Apple TV software licensed to HDTV manufacturers (25%)

5. 1G Apple ‘PaperMac’ Tablet (50%)
Two models, 64GB $699; 128GB $999 (60%)

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If you’ve been following me on Twitter tonight, you’ll know that I’ve been TwitPiccing a few features I found in iPhone OS 3.0 that I’ve not seen mentioned in the press or by Apple. I’ll just present those same tweets here, with some expansion:

When you click the home button to bring up controls on the lock screen, iPhone shows more information. Very helpful!

When you play an audiobook or podcast, iPhone gives two new options. Press the ‘1x,’ and it switches to 2x, and plays at double speed. Press again, it becomes .5x, and plays at half speed. Press again, and it’s back to 1x. The button in the middle quickly skips back 30 seconds, a helpful feature when you’re distracted.

Clicking the mail button currently does nothing. I assume when the final version of 3.0 ships, you’ll be able to send a link to the podcast or audiobook to a friend.

This is not completely unsung, but a little undercovered. You can now have finer control over scrubbing through audio or video files. Press down on the timeline, and then the further your finger is towards the bottom of the screen, the finer is your control.

The new Voice Recorder app (which works fantastically, by the way—here’s my first recording) lets you play back your audio over the speaker, even if you have headphones plugged in, as does the voicemail app.

Not really a feature, but Update has been moved out of the toolbar in the App Store app, in favor of a More button, which brings up a screen with Updates and Redeem on it. Redeem can be used to redeem iTunes gift cards. Update can be moved back into the toolbar with the screen found below, after hitting Edit.

My favorite new feature: clicking the microphone from a dead stop (as when a podcast finishes, or you first unlock your phone, now actives Shuffle play, rather than the horrible practice before of playing Alphabetically from the As. If I’d heard The Abduction of Margaret one more freaking time….

The camera app has been slightly revamped with some different UI. I find the camera much, much faster. It was a little slow when activated from an app such as Tweetie before, but no longer.

This is not a feature at all, but in fact a petty gripe. The Twitter application Tweetie needs to be update to work with OS 3.0. The copy function is quite broken, making it almost impossible to use to select less than an entire tweet. I’m sure this will be fixed, but it goes to show that copy/paste isn’t as easy to implement as you may have assumed.

Gregory Entertainment, Twitter, apple, iPhone apple, iPhone, Tweetie, Twitter

First of all, the new Star Trek film was amazing. I cannot wait for the sequel. But what I want to talk about are three projects, one of which is already in the works, and two more which I think would make a lot of sense.

1. Star Trek 2 (2011)

The sequel to this year’s smash success, to be written again by Fringe showrunners Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci, with credited help this time by Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof, has huge amounts of potential. The changes they have thrown into the mix can really send this franchise into some crazy new directions. So, here’s my proposed plot for Trek 2:

“Vulcan and other Federation separatists, blaming the Romulan Star Empire for the destruction of Vulcan, commandeer a sizable number of Federation vessels and invade the Neutral Zone, set on a preemptive strike on the capital planet. Kirk is ordered to intercept, but his ship is taken over by a race of supermen led by Kahn Noonien Singh, who then joins the renegade fleet. Before the attack can begin, however, Kahn turns on the fleet, delivering them into the hands of the Empire. Kirk must defeat Kahn, and then, making first contact with the Romulan Empire, convince them to not attack the Federation in retaliation.”

There are other twists and turns in my full outline (Kahn at first befriends Kirk in what appears to be a very genuine way, Pike’s intended First Officer Number One is introduced), but this gives you a general sense of it. It’s a little fan-ficcy, sure, but I did a lot of thinking about what elements we’ve seen a lot of in previous Trek films (Klingons), what we saw in this film (futuristic evil Romulans with Borg tech), and what we really haven’t seen anything of anywhere (the Romulan Star Empire of the mid-23rd century). I also want to bring in Kahn because he’s an important part of the mythology, but shouldn’t really be given his own story in the reboot. And the franchise really needs to deal with the ramifications of Vulcan’s destruction in more than a passing way.

2. New Star Trek TV show

So Trek writer/’Heroes’ creator Brian Fuller wants to make a new Trek TV show. Let him. Plan its premiere on CBS for the 2010-2011 season, and give him information on the plotline of the new film so that the first season of his show can serve as an overall prequel for the movie. This will be the first time since 1994-1998 that a Trek movie series and Trek TV show have taken place concurrently. It worked fairly well then, but given the popularity of A. Trek, and B. serialized storylines on TV, I think this has a fairly powerful chance of being profitable. If nothing else, you’ve shot footage that serves as a sequel to the new film, and your sets, as with TNG, DS9, and Voyager, can be used for the higher-budget film series.

Now what should the show be about? Obviously Fuller has his ideas in mind, and I’d love to let him and a room go wild, but I’d recommend a show about explorers, as with the original show. It’s simply too expensive to set many shows past the pilot on Earth. It’d be important to find powerful actors, so the first thing I’d recommend is to try to get Bruce Greenwood to reprise his role of Captain Pike from the film. People loved his character, and I think with a good conversation, Greenwood could be convinced to do TV. Obviously Kirk is in command of the flagship and Pike is in a wheelchair, but there’s no reason he couldn’t still command a starship. As a Fleet Captain, he’d actually have his choice of commands.

It’s also important to cast his bridge properly: an absolute MUST is to bring on the woman intended to be his first officer, Number One, who was played by Majel Barret on the original Star Trek pilot. It’s easy enough to explain that she was supposed to be First Officer on the Enterprise, but during the rush that sent the flagship on her maiden voyage, she was simply off-world. We haven’t seen a female first officer (no, T’Pol doesn’t count), and such a strong female character could help fill the gap in sci-fi left by the departure of Battlestar Galactica.

3. Star Trek: Countdown: the film

My third suggestion is probably the least likely. The writers of the Star Trek reboot wrote the story to a prequel comic book, ‘Star Trek: Countdown,’ which is set in 2387 and sets up the backstory of villain Nero. What most people may not know is that it features the Next Generation cast in a storyline that’s honestly better than the past couple Next Gen movies.

If you already have some Trek sets built for the new show, it shouldn’t be terribly difficult to retrofit them to be Enterprise-E sets. Do it like the Battlestar Galactica TV-movies. 60-80 minutes. Plan it for inclusion on a Special Edition of the Star Trek DVD and Blu-Ray. It shouldn’t be hard to convince most of the main cast of Next Gen to come back—especially for what’s no more than a day or two of work—for a much better swan song for the main cast, and the future of the ‘Prime’ storyline than Star Trek Nemesis was. I think everyone can get behind that idea.

Gregory Uncategorized

The (relatively) new social network phenomenon Twitter is gaining users faster than ever. Certainly, there’s no lack of usage guides, but as one of the older users of the service (I was a user back when there were fewer than 100k of us), I’d like to throw a few tips of my own into the ether.

First, I will define a few terms:

Tweet (n) A message, no more than 140 characters, sent over the Twitter system. (v) To send a tweet.
Tweeter (n) A user of Twitter.
Twitterfeed (n) The incoming tweets from the tweeters you follow. syn. stream
Follower (n) Someone who has subscribed to see your tweets in their Twitterfeed.
Followeds (n) The tweeters you see in your Twitterfeed.
@reply (n) A tweet including with the character @ followed by your username, which shows up in your “@[yourname]” directory on the main page. (v) To send an @reply.
Twitterfriend (n) A person with whom you regularly correspond using @replies.
Retweet (n) A tweet beginning with RT, which contains a tweet tweeted by another tweeter than the one tweeting. (v) To repurpose someone else’s tweet into a tweet of your own by tweeting it, beginning with RT and including the name of the original tweeter.
Spammer (n) A tweeter who posts ‘junk’ tweets similar to spam e-mail.
Hash Tag (n) A mark at the end of a tweet, beginning with # and then a topic number, which is used to mark a post for aiding search-ability.
Twitterverse (n) All the tweets of all the tweeters
Twitter Search (n) http://search.twitter.com, a service which allows anyone to search the entire Twitterverse.

Now for the tips:

Tip #1: Manage your follow list with an iron fist
Because you see all the tweets coming down the stream, you can quickly become overloaded with information if you’re not careful. Follow your real friends, first and foremost. Don’t follow every celebrity you see, only the ones with tweets that specifically interest you. Keep your Twitterfeed personal. Don’t feel obligated to follow the same people as your friends. The best tweets will be retweeted, and you’ll see them anyway.

If one of your followeds starts crowding your stream, immediately unfollow them. Typically, that line for me is when the same user has more than three tweets in a row on my stream. If they can’t fit ten minutes of thought into 140 characters, they need to find a different medium than Twitter.

Tip #2: Check your replies and new followers constantly
One of the best ways to find new Twitterfriends is to look into your Replies directory, which shows you all tweets that are addressed to you, even those from outside your follow list. Maybe they saw your tweet from the main page, maybe they searched for a topic you mentioned, or maybe one of your tweets was retweeted. Either way, if someone thought enough of one of your tweets to reply, you should do them the service of reading it, and, more often than not, replying back.

Also, stay on top of your followers list. Unless you’re a bigtime celeb, you’re probably not getting more than a few new followers a week, and therefore it’s easy enough to pop in and see what’s up. If a new follower is a spammer, block them to keep your numbers from inflating. If they’re a friend, go ahead and automatically follow them. The grey list is Tweeters who you don’t yet know. Usually if one is in my geographical location, or the last page of tweets show topics I might be interested in, I’ll follow.

The key is to easily follow or unfollow. Don’t feel obligated to do either, but remember that you never know the gems until you see how their tweets fit into your stream. Think of Twitter as an open IM system. There are billions of conversations going on in the world, and you’re tapped into only the ones that (might) interest you. If you aren’t interested, stop following.

Tip #3: Use hash tags regularly
Hash tags are a fantastic way to find and be found by other tweeters. The one I use most often is #bsg, which taps me into a community of tweeters who are discussing Battlestar Galactica. If I say something interesting, a large group has seen it (through Twitter Search), and can reply. Often, you can find new tweetfriends this way. If you’re unsure if a particular hash is in use, plug it into Twitter Search and see if many tweets pop up. If not, try a few synonymous terms. If you can’t find anything, start using your own new hash tag. You never know, perhaps it will spread into wide use.

It’s good to have some of the hash tags you tweet often bookmarked for easy perusal. Wondering what the twitterverse thought of last night’s ‘Office’ episode? Just have ‘#office’ in Twitter Search bookmarked on your bar. Click it, and you’ll instantly see the thoughts of tweeters around the world.

P.S. you can follow me at http://twitter.com/gregoryharbin

Gregory Twitter Battlestar Galactica, guide, social networking, Twitter

Here are the highlights of a product I expect/hope that Steve Jobs will announce in June:

Apple iPhone detachable keyboard

Slightly bigger than onscreen keyboard, connects to 30-pin adapter at bottom of device

Works with all iPhone OS apps

Can be set to automatically open Mail application, or any other

Is external battery pack: transfers full battery charge when connected

Comes in 2 models: white or black.

$79

And now for Steve Jobs’ pitch, revealed as a ‘One More Thing…’ announcement during the 3rd Generation iPhone/iPod touch announcement that will also see the revelation of Apple’s new ‘PaperMac’ large-size touchscreen tablet machine (for more information on that device, see my ahead-of-its-time blog post from December 2007: PaperMac and FamilyMac coming at MacWorld 08?:

photo: Ben Stanfield; view this photo on Flickr

STEVE JOBS: “OK, now we’ve seen some pretty impressive products début tonight. The third generation iPhone, with revolutionary add-ons, enhanced screen, and the new EVDO option for our business customers. We’ve seen the new PaperMac and FamilyMac, devices which I think are going to change how personal computers are viewed by everyone.

“But in all our talk tonight, we haven’t addressed the issue that’s been coming to our product team from a small, but very vocal, portion of our customers. An issue that’s been brought to my attention by everyone from my bag boy at Whole Foods, to Al Gore. An issue that, honestly, many of you assumed we just… wouldn’t address. And for good reason.

“We believe that the iPhone platform is the best form factor imaginable for a pocket device. The touch screen allows infinite combinations of applications. Infinite… user interface designs. Infinite, well, keyboards.

“But we’ve heard you. Sometimes you just need to bang out an e-mail in as quick a manner as possible. Or maybe your fingers are just to big to be comfortable with our revolutionary adaptive onscreen keyboard. Maybe you’re looking at some of our… competitors, and, even though the software isn’t as good, and the applications aren’t there: you’re tempted, because they include the one option that the iPhone has, up until now, not made available to you.

“And that’s why, today, we’re announcing… [cue picture] the iPhone Keyboard. It clicks right into the bottom of your iPhone. It interfaces with any application. It includes programmable buttons, for quickly opening your three favorite keyboard-intensive applications. Using the keyboard app on your iPhone, you can even program your iPhone to open your Mail app right to the ‘compose mail’ screen the instant the iPhone keyboard is clicked in.

“I actually have one in my pocket right now. [takes it out, snaps it into the bottom of his iPhone] As you see, the ergonomic design clicks in and wraps around the rear of your iPhone, becoming a seamless part of your device. And as soon as you don’t need it, press this lever, and it pops right off. Or always leave it on, if you like, and the 30-pin adapter on the bottom of the keyboard works just like the one on the bottom of your iPhone. You can even plug in any extra accessories you like.

“And one more thing. We have all this space for the keyboard, so we wondered how we could make the keyboard be even more useful. We answered that question by making iPhone Keyboard an external battery pack. [hold for applause] It includes an entire battery charge for your iPhone, effectively doubling the time you get between charges.

“This device isn’t for everyone, but for that small and vocal group, we think this is going to be the answer they were looking for.

“The iPhone Keyboard comes in black, or white… and is priced at $79.

“And now, please enjoy the musical stylings of… the Jonas Brothers.”

Gregory apple, iPhone, technology apple, iPhone, iPhone keyboard, technology

So I’m now found here, at gregory.harbn.com. Thanks to my brother (kevin.harbn.com) for setting up the site, thanks to me for coming up with the name, and thanks to my brother for going along with it.

I’ll have more posts coming in the future, but for now, suffice it to say: Japanese hawks? They’re scary. This morning I was sitting outside a 7-11, eating a hot dog, and one of these crazed aves scooped up my hog dog with his scaly little claws and flew off into the heavens, all while emitting a death screech designed to strike fear into the hearts of mice, rats, and, apparently, twenty-something English teachers.

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1. The Dark Knight

Yes, I love TDK more than any other film this year. It’s one of the best action movies ever made, and certainly the best superhero film. I can’t wait to see how this does in my Top 50 of 2000-2009. Heath Ledger is of course more than amazing, and the entire cast—I love love Gary Oldman in this—is wonderful as well. Also, Nolan’s use of the IMAX camera is worth an Oscar right there.

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Magical. Brad Pitt is the best leading actor of the year, putting together a performance I’ll be watching for years. It’s almost better shot than Dark Knight, and reminds me of another of my favorite films, The Aviator, in its use of shifting ‘film stock’ as time passes. Also: the best film framing device since Princess Bride.

3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I’m almost angry that liked Dark Knight and Button better than this, because I love love love it. I saw it three times in theaters, and three times on DVD so far, and I love it. I’ve done to death the problems with the script and why they exist, but I’ll be darned if it doesn’t work anyway. I really hope they make a fifth one.

4. Slumdog Millionaire

Really, this top ten, especially the top five, is a list of movies I absolutely adore from this year, for different reasons. Boyle throws us into the world of Mumbai in a way I really didn’t expect from the 28 Days Later director. A must-see.

5. WALL-E

Pixar’s best film since Toy Story, and the best computer animated character ever. Maybe a little preachy? But honestly I didn’t notice. Fabulous.

6. In Bruges

Overlooked gem. Seek this one out, if just for Colin Ferrel’s shifty performance as a hidden hit man for hire.

7. Frost/Nixon

You have to accept that this film isn’t factual and move on. Consider it a complete What If? on the subject of Richard Nixon. Langella and Sheen do a great, great job. I absolutely cannot wait for Morgan’s next film. Ron Howard continues to be versatile. He’s doing Angels & Demons next, and then maybe the Arrested Development film. I’m glad I’m not his agent.

8. Iron Man

Robert. Downey. Junior. Glad to see this guy finally get the due he didn’t get after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The man can act up a storm, and Iron Man is a fun superhero romp.

9. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Another unappreciated gem of a film. I hope this gets some sort of Oscar buzz—costuming?—because it should have been seen by more people. Amy Adams delights.

10. Speed Racer

I thought I wasn’t going to like it, and I did. I really, really did. Probably the most falsely-maligned film of 2008. If you have Blu-Ray and HDTV, this must be in your collection.

Bonus: 11-20!

11. Revolutionary Road – Great acting
12. Quantum of Solace – Great action
13. Vicky Cristina Barcelona – Great writing
14. Burn After Reading – Great final scene
15. Forgetting Sarah Marshall – Great jokes
16. Cloverfield – Great concept
17. Body of Lies – Good action
18. Get Smart – Good jokes
19. Hellboy II – Good production design
20. Pineapple Express – Hilarious

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