iPod Touch & CrossOver Mac
05/10/07 22:45 Filed in: Computing
After two week’s experience with my iPod Touch, here are my thoughts:
I can say that the screen is pretty scratch-resistent. I haven't tried taking keys to it like some have, but considering my (1st gen) iPod Nano didn't last a week before it got some noticible scratches, that's saying something.
The touch-keyboard is pretty cool; I don't have much problem typing in things in it (even somewhat longer things, like a response to a forum post). In general, the touch screen is easier to work with than I expected. It's pretty accurate in knowing where you are touching the screen. You do have to touch it with skin, though. Styluses, fingernails, etc. don't work.
The screen is amazingly sharp. Video is sharp, clear & bright (there was a two-week window when the Touch was first made that had manufacturing issues; mine was made after they fixed the issue). I've actually held mine up side-by-side to an iPhone, and the screen looks the same. I'm still amazed how good the video quality is, actually.
I use a Mac Mini as a DVR, and the maker of the DVR & its software has added the ability to stream video to the iPhone/Touch, which is a pretty neat feature.
Web browsing is surprisingly good, partly due to the interface, partly due to the screen. I have no real issues using it as a web browser -- with the exception that there is no flash. But it does everything non-flash just fine. You can sync the bookmarks with your PC (I'm willing to bet it's more painful on a Wintendo machine; it's seamless on a Mac), and bookmarks added on the phone end up in Safari.
Photos are also really good. Aside from the really neat zooming & flicking the pictures around, the quality is just really good - it's a great substitute for carrying around a wad of photos.
The WiFi music store is also great. Listening to previews is more 'instant' than with iTunes, and it's painless to buy songs (you have to type in your password the first time you buy something for each WiFi music store session). Incomplete downloads restart - even over different networks. The songs are copied to the computer the next time you sync iTunes. It's pretty neat to be slobbing around listening to the iPod, and being able to shop for & buy music without having to move more than a couple fingers. Not needing a computer booted & running iTunes is oddly satisfying.
It has no trouble detecting WiFi networks in general. It's a bit fun driving down the street and looking at all of the wifi networks around. (But the Touch also has no problem working with a "closed", invisible, WPA2 secured network).
As far as space goes: I got the 16 GB version. I have about 4.5 GB of music (the stuff I regularly listen to), 300 MB of pictures, and the rest is video. For video, I've got some-odd 12 hours of video, and a bunch of video podcasts & music videos.
That’s it for the iPod Touch. I read yesterday about how CodeWeaver’s “Crossover” WINE product would support Team Fortress 2 on the Mac. Now I’ve been a huge fan of Team Fortress, at least since I was first exposed to it with Team Fortress Classic. I used to play competitively, and my outfit/clan was highly ranked and well-respected. I’ve been playing TF2 on Vista using Boot Camp (on my MacBook Pro), and have had no problems. I figured I may as well see what it works like in WINE.
I can say that the screen is pretty scratch-resistent. I haven't tried taking keys to it like some have, but considering my (1st gen) iPod Nano didn't last a week before it got some noticible scratches, that's saying something.
The touch-keyboard is pretty cool; I don't have much problem typing in things in it (even somewhat longer things, like a response to a forum post). In general, the touch screen is easier to work with than I expected. It's pretty accurate in knowing where you are touching the screen. You do have to touch it with skin, though. Styluses, fingernails, etc. don't work.
The screen is amazingly sharp. Video is sharp, clear & bright (there was a two-week window when the Touch was first made that had manufacturing issues; mine was made after they fixed the issue). I've actually held mine up side-by-side to an iPhone, and the screen looks the same. I'm still amazed how good the video quality is, actually.
I use a Mac Mini as a DVR, and the maker of the DVR & its software has added the ability to stream video to the iPhone/Touch, which is a pretty neat feature.
Web browsing is surprisingly good, partly due to the interface, partly due to the screen. I have no real issues using it as a web browser -- with the exception that there is no flash. But it does everything non-flash just fine. You can sync the bookmarks with your PC (I'm willing to bet it's more painful on a Wintendo machine; it's seamless on a Mac), and bookmarks added on the phone end up in Safari.
Photos are also really good. Aside from the really neat zooming & flicking the pictures around, the quality is just really good - it's a great substitute for carrying around a wad of photos.
The WiFi music store is also great. Listening to previews is more 'instant' than with iTunes, and it's painless to buy songs (you have to type in your password the first time you buy something for each WiFi music store session). Incomplete downloads restart - even over different networks. The songs are copied to the computer the next time you sync iTunes. It's pretty neat to be slobbing around listening to the iPod, and being able to shop for & buy music without having to move more than a couple fingers. Not needing a computer booted & running iTunes is oddly satisfying.
It has no trouble detecting WiFi networks in general. It's a bit fun driving down the street and looking at all of the wifi networks around. (But the Touch also has no problem working with a "closed", invisible, WPA2 secured network).
As far as space goes: I got the 16 GB version. I have about 4.5 GB of music (the stuff I regularly listen to), 300 MB of pictures, and the rest is video. For video, I've got some-odd 12 hours of video, and a bunch of video podcasts & music videos.
That’s it for the iPod Touch. I read yesterday about how CodeWeaver’s “Crossover” WINE product would support Team Fortress 2 on the Mac. Now I’ve been a huge fan of Team Fortress, at least since I was first exposed to it with Team Fortress Classic. I used to play competitively, and my outfit/clan was highly ranked and well-respected. I’ve been playing TF2 on Vista using Boot Camp (on my MacBook Pro), and have had no problems. I figured I may as well see what it works like in WINE.