For some reason, I tend to drag my feet when the idea of adopting some snazzy new technology is introduced. Hand cranked pasta maker? That’s just practical. iPhone? Um, now really, do I need that?
No, of course I don’t. But staring out at a sea of panel attendees taking pictures and video with their iPhones last week suggested to me that it was perhaps wise that I board this bandwagon already if I was going to continue working in internet media. (Also, a bit later when starvation was eminent and Sidney asked his iPhone where we should eat lunch, it literally drew us a map.) And so, with my reservations finally tamped down, Brian and I welcomed twin iPhones into our lives this past weekend–his wearing the black case, mine in steely mauve.
I have to admit that it is a pretty cool device and I am enjoying getting to know my new little gadget. Still, suddenly having five more ways to organize my copious to-do lists did not exactly lower my stress level.
“You need a game!” I thought to myself, while browsing through all those actually productivity increasing apps. But the whizz and bang of the games on offer didn’t really seem like my thing. The zen garden, however, was a bit too much of a cat nap. And then, across a crowded iTunes store, I saw it. Bloom. For the remainder of the weekend, every time Brian looked up from his own iPhone to ask what I was doing, I was not exploring new ways to organize my travel reservations or plan dinner menus. I was actually making music again. Well, sorta-kinda.
(Video is by mrk087, not yours truly. Sorry for any confusion there, folks.)
So funny: I checked out the video before jumping to the link or seeing the title and thought to myself, “who needs Ambient or Discreet Music now?” Does this mean that the iPhone is officially a piece of furniture?
The coolest music app I’ve used is Jasuto [jasuto.com/site/], an analog synth approximation. I spent a bunch of time on the way to India with this one…
The app RJDJ is very fun for wandering around the world wearing earbuds (and this is significant since I’m not a huge earbud-in-public-spaces person), and the enthusiasm of B. led me to Byline, which puts Google Reader at the fingertips.