As our regular readers will know, we here at Bandwidth Blog like infographics, or basically anything that makes data more visually appealing, or easier to understand. I recently came across this tool from Ionz which generates a cool looking, albeit simple “view” of your own profile. When you open up the site it will ask you a few questions, and then based on percentages of the average user, generate something like this:

From there you can go and save a high resolution version for desktop. While I realize its a very simple little tool, I wish it had a few more metrics.

If you want to go and try it out – get it here. Once it fires up, just click the Union Jack at the top right to switch to english. From there answer the questions, and just wait for he infograph to generate. You can then personalize it in terms of orientation, colour, etc. Enjoy.

Every year in September Apple has its music focussed event which normally focusses on new iPods, but occasionally Apple also releases interesting new devices as well…

Now if we look at the invite for the event its a guitar with a Apple shaped hole behind the strings, so clearly Apple is sticking to the music theme this year. But this might also hint towards Apple’s iLife suite which has the Garageband app. Its been 18 months since iLife ’09 was released. The typical release date for past releases of iLife was in January at the Macworld conference, but since Apple does not go to Macworld anymore, an announcement for a new version of iLife might be very possible.

Captain Obvious will also tell you that new iPods are on the way. Updates to the current iPod might look something like this I reckon:

iPod Classic: All evidence suggests that the hard drive based iPod is on the way out. With all of Apple’s focus on touch based interfaces, it would be very strange of Apple to keep selling the Classic. But there is a sizable number of people out there with massive music libraries that want it all in their pockets. So if Apple drops the iPod Classic, expect some outcry.

iPod Nano: There are currently pictures out there from case suppliers that suggest that Apple might be changing the Nano a lot. Expect a small clip like device, almost like the second generation iPod Shuffle. Bizarrely this device will use a 3 inch touch screen.

I am somewhat skeptical of this, and I guess I would have to see how one would pull off a touch based interface on such a small screen that actually works well. I am instead hoping for a smaller sized iPod Touch shaped device.

iPod Touch: My opinion is that the iPod touch and Classic would be fused into one product. I reckon the iPod touch might change its name to simply “iPod”. Looking at the iPhone 4 its easy enough to predict what we might see. Expect higher resolution Retina displays, front facing cameras for using Facetime calls and a more iPhone like design scheme that uses matte steel and black steel.

iPod Shuffle: In the past year, the Shuffle was the dud of the iPod lineup. Without a decent control scheme, I expect Apple to shift to another design. Or alternatively, if the rumors of a much smaller iPod Nano is to believed, it might be entirely possible that the Shuffle can be scrapped altogether.

One more thing: New AppleTV (or iTV). I expect a more simplified version of Apple TV to arrive soon. Current rumors suggest an iOS based interface, smaller on board storage and an much lower price. I have no idea how they would implement iOS on a screen without a decent control scheme though. Maybe a Wiimote like pointer?

The big what if for me: When is iPad users getting iOS4? Apple told us that we can expect it Fall 2010. Well – its that time Apple. Problem is that there has been no public beta of 4.1 for iPad. Therefore I expect at least the announcement of the iPad iOS Beta program to start. Call it iOS 4.1, iOS 4.2, heck, call iPadFixed, just give us some feedback Apple. But I don’t want to get off on a rant here – you can read my current issues with the iPad here.

But its only a day until we will know how wrong I am…

Google‘s rich history of acquisitions is put together in a very good format here by the guys at Scores.org. Where this infographic is handy is that they quickly identify whether a purchase was a way to enhance existing Google revenue streams, or to get rid of competitors. What I want to know is how many of these acquisitions have been enhanced since falling inside Google’s empire, and how many have died since…

Source: Scores.org

Who’s Who SA is a South African based service for professionals. While most of you are probably thinking ‘Linked-In’, you would be right, to an extent. However, there is a difference. That it’s of a local nature.

Today, their iPhone application is available in the iTunes Store. Download Now

WWSA is a professional network for South Africans. The thing that makes it quite interesting is that it has been pre-populated with information that pertains to key people in South Africa. As well as constantly updated company information as provided by McGregorBFA.

Recently Naspers Ltd. contracted Panacea Mobile to help out with a strategy for the mobile side of WWSA, we collaborated to create the WWSA iPhone application. The idea was to get an application out that like-minded South African business people could use to familiarise themselves with each other.

We also introduced some Location Based services, although in it’s current form, it still has room for improvement, it is already quite sophisticated. You will be able to sport companies around you and view information about them. You will also be able to spot other WWSA users around you, however, this is dependant on the application becoming more populated

You can find me on Who’s who here.

Screen shots:

After using the iPad as a secondary computer for the last month I have to agree that the oversimplified interface of iOS quickly grew on me – and after watching many people use the iPad I have to say there is great potential for people of all computer skill levels. I have seen people who never used a computer before manage to be able to access email, look at photos, check website etc. What makes iOS so revolutionary is that it makes the learning curve of using a computing device much easier than ever before.

Its little wonder then that many people have started asking when iOS will arrive on the desktop. Not to replace existing full featured operating systems, but as a secondary, simplified, high speed interface. I am pretty sure it wont be that difficult to just stick a touch panel inside a iMac, but the angle of the screen might make it uncomfortable to use for extended periods of time. Well, it seems Apple has already thought of it. Patent application drawings have emerged that show how Apple will address this issue with large screened mahines.

I have to agree that this looks like a pretty great implementation. I can only imagine the iMac becoming a dual use machine within a household. If User A is power user, he still has the full power of Mac OSX to run his full featured applications, but User B can also use the machine in touch panel mode using iOS.

Now this is obviously just guesses right now – Apple might make Mac OSX touch aware, but I really hope that is not the case. One can also wonder how Apple is going to deal with the differing resolutions of iOS presently (the iPhone, iPhone 4 and the iPad), and how it will handle them going forward, without causing developer headaches. These patent drawings are still quite fresh, but dont expect to see them too soon. The iMac has been refreshed only a few months ago, and Apple tends to focus on evolutionary changes with its Mac hardware, with revolutionary changes only after a few upgrade cycles. Unless this is a new product category…

Actually I think Apple should rather be focussing on fixing those small problems in the iPad software. Chop Chop, Apple!

Source: PatentlyApple

For the last month my iPad has changed my computing patterns quite a bit – my Macbook Pro has been staying at home on most trips, which I did not really believe would happen. However, not all is great with the iPad. While Apple might sketch a very rosy picture, there is a few shortcomings which I believe should not have been there in the first place.

1)      Multitasking

This is my major hangup with the iPad – in fact I think its pretty silly of Apple to release the iPad without it. While everyone was clamouring for multitasking on the iPhone, I have to say that I realised later that it wasn’t something that I used all that much. Sure, its nice to have, but it was not really such a big deal (except maybe for navigation apps). But on the iPad it’s a necessity. Having to exit out of an app to go copy something from another app is getting old mighty quick.

2)      Improved Notifications

Apple’s current notification method is pretty sucky. The whole idea where my notifications are static on screen is tired. Android’s implementation is much more slick – the pull down tray from the top of the screen is much better. On a device like the iPad where a multitude of apps might be wanting to notify me, a proper notification scheme is needed. All that screen real estate and all I get is little popups and badges on icons?

3)      Folders

One of the greatest parts of the iPad is the big bright screen – it is still better than just about any tablet PC on the market today. On the iPhone the cramped screen creates a necessity where screen icons need to be easy to touch, and therefore a typical user can browse through many pages of icons. On the iPad it gives the impression of an unfinished product – we need folders so that we arrange the icons. Frankly, this should have arrived on the iPad.

4)      A revised Universal App policy

So far the apps available for the iPad has slowly improved, with most of the apps focussing on rewriting of existing iPhone apps, with next to no additional functionality. The worst part is that some developers have the odacity to simply slap “HD” at the end of the title, and asking double the price. I am pretty sure that a large percentage of the iPad user base is iPhone users as well – therefore people who would prefer to have universal apps that run on both platforms, but most importantly, carry a one time cost. Now many apps have done the right thing and made their apps universal, but I believe Apple should insist apps be made universal if they do not improve on the iPhone version. A good example is Beejive. I paid $10 for it on iPhone, now I have to pay $10 for the iPad version? Please.

5)      An improved App Store interface

Currently the iPad Appstore is not really logically arranged. Instead of following the tried and tested iPhone formula where top selling apps bubble to the top. On the iPad it takes a few clicks to see the top selling apps of a certain category. Small thing, but irritating nonetheless.

6)      Wireless Sync

I was never one of those people that did not like iTunes – I liked its organization of my music library and its reasonably simple, no drills interface. But over time it has become quite a pig – while the interface has remained quite similar, Apple had to make it compatible with its ever increasing range of iDevices, and the result is its current overweight self. Even the name iTunes is misnomer – its not like playing music is the only thing it does. iHub might be more apt, with it becoming the center of your digital entertainment. But problem number one is that devices like the iPad need iTunes just to activate. And then it needs to be plugged into iTunes just to do a music sync. With the iPad’s large battery and fast wireless N networking, why cant it do it without a cable? The iPad should move away from relying on your computer just to switch on.

7)      Printing

At present this is non-existant on the iPad. If you want to print something with the iPad, you need to send the file to a computer, and print it from there. Again, the iPad relies on your computer. This should be built into iPad, and I am sure Apple can figure out a way to handle the mess of printer drivers. In fact, if there is one area of computing that I think most people agree is still terrible, its printers. Im not asking for iPrinter, the driver and setup method must be universally refreshed. (Getting off the point here, I know.)

8)      A file structure

Now I know many people will say that this goes against the very simplicity that makes the iPhone/iPad successful. But at present, iTunes’s file syncing is a very poorly implemented solution. At the very least, Apple should allow me to sync file structures and folders between my PC and the iPad. Why must I manually choose which files I want to send to my iPad? I have enough space on there – let me sync them all please. Also, the current API of opening a file in another app is a welcome change, but more apps need to use it.

9)      Improved iPhone app rendering

At present iPhone apps on the iPad look very bad. If Apple can make older low res iPhone apps render next to perfectly on the iPhone’s retina display, surely they can make the same effort on the iPad. Especially with the app updates now all addressing the Retina display, images, buttons and text should all look better on the iPad’s display as well right?

10)   More transparency on Software Updates

First off, I know Apple and “transparency” cannot really be mentioned in the same sentence. But with the iPad, Apple has a responsibility to improve on all these aspects, and quickly. The iPad should have arrived with iOS4 out of the box – and the current “Fall 2010” timeline is not really specific. Apple is hosting a music related event on the first of September, so we can only predict what we might see then. Hopefully iOS will be available then.

You will notice that most of my issues can be fixed with a software update – that because I believe the iPad hardware is pretty close to perfect. Sure, it can stand to lose a few grams, and it might be better with a SD card reader built in, but all in all I think the form factor is pretty perfect.

Not that its all bad news – I honestly believe that these “slimmed down” computers are the way forward, and that our general computing pattern will change in the future. I am on the fence whether people will prefer smartphones or tablet devices, but my first instinct tells me that smartphones will win the battle, but the iPad might be prefered by many people who don’t want to tinker with small touch screens.

What I do agree with however is Steve Jobs’s analogy of how our computing patterns might follow the way we use cars. Instead of everyone driving trucks (lets just call them big, tough vehicles), people have started shifting towards smaller, more focussed vehicles like cars. The typical user does not do any computationally intensive tasks on their computers anymore – our usage of computers have shifted towards web-browsing based scenarios completely. The upcoming release of Google’s Chrome OS is typical of this – why use a full operating system when our usage is primarily concerned with web platforms?

And that is why the iPad is doing so well at the moment – we have changed our entire computing pattern, and the iPad is the ideal machine for that. Now bring on the competition please. HP – I am looking at you.

Pretty good infographic over at Mashable today detailing the usage patterns of text messaging across the world. Clearly teens are texting each other at an incredible rate, and Mashable claims that this form of  communication has surpassed normal face to face communication with many people.

The scary part of all of this is of course that the networks make around 25 – 85c per every 160 characters. 160 bytes of data for that amount of money – you can clearly see why the networks want people to SMS. Clearly someone should let people know of IM – hell, use Mxit, Google Talk, BB Messenger etc.

But enough with the rant – here’s the infographic.

Wired’s cover story for September is quite a big one – Charles Anderson argues that the Web is dead – and this might sound ridiculous. But he does make quite a few very good points. Slowly but surely, we are moving away from a Web only use of the internet, and starting to choose to use the internet in “App form”. Instead of  accessing sites using our PC browser we are preferring to use dedicated applications devoted to a task – which in most cases improves our user experience of these services.

Instead of going through the schlep of logging on to Facebook, we instead choose to use a dumbed down, well designed app on iPhone or Android. We prefer to access Twitter through dedicated apps on our phones than going to the Twitter site. Same can be said of music services, and the recent boom in location based services also drives the point further. The interface is better, its easier to use, and the functionality is focussed.

He goes on further mentioning that the traditional “open is good” mindset is not necessarily the most successful anymore. I am not referring to iPhone vs Android, but instead that people like using closed systems in general, nevermind the ethics or “lock in” problems. Good examples include the iTunes store, but Facebook is a prime example. Its closed nature is perhaps what made people want to use it – the fact that your activities are generally kept away from Google’s crawlers makes the platform seem more welcoming. Of course I realize there is a lot wrong in that sentence – you be the judge:

Enter Facebook. The site began as a free but closed system. It required not just registration but an acceptable email address (from a university, or later, from any school). Google was forbidden to search through its servers. By the time it opened to the general public in 2006, its clublike, ritualistic, highly regulated foundation was already in place. Its very attraction was that it was a closed system. Indeed, Facebook’s organization of information and relationships became, in a remarkably short period of time, a redoubt from the Web — a simpler, more habit-forming place.

The company invited developers to create games and applications specifically for use on Facebook, turning the site into a full-fledged platform. And then, at some critical-mass point, not just in terms of registration numbers but of sheer time spent, of habituation and loyalty, Facebook became a parallel world to the Web, an experience that was vastly different and arguably more fulfilling and compelling and that consumed the time previously spent idly drifting from site to site.

Even more to the point, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg possessed a clear vision of empire: one in which the developers who built applications on top of the platform that his company owned and controlled would always be subservient to the platform itself. It was, all of a sudden, not just a radical displacement but also an extraordinary concentration of power. The Web of countless entrepreneurs was being overshadowed by the single entrepreneur-mogul-visionary model, a ruthless paragon of everything the Web was not: rigid standards, high design, centralized control.

I highly recommend you go read it here. It makes you think twice about the way we will use the internet in the future.