Fact: I switched from the iPhone to the HTC Aria, an Android phone.
Opinion: Android is the better operating system.

First Impressions

Android is definitely not as easy to use as iOS.  There, I said it.  iOS is built for ease of use.  New features don’t make it in unless Apple figures out a way to make them totally dummy-proof.  And there’s the catch–iOS sacrifices features for an easier user experience.  Android, while not as easy to pick up and use, wields a lot more power.

Favorite Features

Multitasking in Android rocks.  I’m also a big fan of the Android notifications system–worlds better than the iPhone’s pop-up system, in my opinion.  Android integrates tightly with everything Google: Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, Voice, etc. That’s good because my entire digital life is stored at the Googleplex.  Also, free turn-by-turn nav.

Complaints

There isn’t a Twitter client on Android that comes close to Twitter for iPhone (Tweetie).  The Facebook application is awful.  The media player isn’t as elegant as the iPhone’s iPod application.  I can’t find a way to lock the screen orientation.  No way to control music apps (Pandora/Slacker) without having to open them.  A glaring omission: no way to take a SCREENSHOT.  There are apps that allow you to do so, but your phone needs to be rooted.  Not cool.

If I don’t feel like too much of a slacker, maybe I’ll put together a list of some of the apps I’ve started using.  Keep your eyes peeled.

After testing the iPad in various situations, I decided to sell my MacBook today. Now, before you chastise me for going off the deep end, bear in mind that I also have a desktop computer. That can handle “work” without issue. For everything else, I’m discovering that the iPad holds its own quite well. In fact, I typed this post on it – and I managed to do it without compulsively checking Twitter twenty times. I guess that is one situation where a lack of multitasking comes in handy, eh?

Just in case you’re afraid of missing something on the Twitter, there is a nice iPhone app called Boxcar that also works with the iPad. It’ll send you a push notification if you receive an @reply or DM.

Anyone else daring to make a similar leap?

I’m in a bit of a funk right now.  There’s really no tiptoeing around that fact.  I could list the reasons why and that list would run a mile long, but it inevitably comes down to one thing.

I miss freedom.  And I miss the uncertainty that freedom brings, because sometimes, uncertainty is the catalyst for your most exciting memories.

I’m not one who enjoys being still.  Quiet nights at home?  I can deal with them but I’d rather not.  Give me a sport to play, a movie to watch or a random car trip, please.  Maybe I’ve got some serious ADHD going on?  I don’t know.  At this point, I just thought there’d be more. But here I am, at 25 – working every weekday, crashing when I get home, and going out on the weekend to forget about the past five days.

I despise this cycle.  Falling into it has left me feeling like I’ve given up, like I’m not living life to the fullest.  And I understand, sometimes this path is necessary.  It’s a sacrifice you make to pay your way through night school or put food on the table for your kids.  I, however, have no such tie-downs, so I’m left wondering – what on Earth am I doing?  The answer?  Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.  Trying to make my wishes and desires conform to what the world thinks is “responsible”.

Somewhere in between my usual outing downtown on Friday and reading Vagabonding on Saturday, it hit me.  Things have gotten far too routine for me to bear and I need to do something drastic.

By the time this post goes live, I will have given my two-weeks’ notice.  I will go back to freelancing and consulting from home, just as I did last year – but with a twist.  My work is location independent, and I plan on taking advantage of that.  Fully.  I’m not handcuffed to a desk here or anything.  What’s stopping me from working from the library or a cafe?  Or, to be a bit more wild… Thailand?  Nothing really.

So here I go.

If I had to estimate, I’d say that about two-thirds of the reading I do takes place inside Google Reader.  And not just my own subscriptions, but also the content shared by others.  I get a lot of value from those shared posts because, let’s face it – I don’t have time to sift through thousands of blog posts a day.  This is why a plain feed reader just wouldn’t do.  Sure, I’d be able to subscribe to and read blogs, but I’d be missing all the shared content and the sense of community I get inside Google Reader.

The Kindle isn’t built for that, at least not yet.  Is it great with books?  Absolutely.  But the blog reading situation needs to be vastly improved for me to even consider buying one and, unless that happens before April 3, I’ll be purchasing a different product instead.

Two things come to mind:

1. I will never get to own the Abuzz domain – The New York Times still has it on lockdown until 2012 and I doubt they’ll be surrendering it after that.
2. How ahead of its time was this site?

Launched in 1999, the NYT Abuzz site was “social networking” before sites like Myspace and Facebook took center stage.  There was a question/answer format (similar to Yahoo! Answers or Mahalo Answers), a discussion section (which isn’t that original – forums and USENET were around for years) and section for publishing commentary, such as book reviews, reactions to news stories, and so on.

On top of that, the site attempted what many sites are still trying to do today – filter information and deliver only what it thinks will be relevant to you.  Pretty amazing stuff.

As you can see here, the site shut down on September 2, 2004, citing limited resources.  The fact that the NYT has held on to the domain name long afterwards means they think the domain is a valuable asset (I agree).  Do they have plans to utilize it in the future?  Who knows.  If not, and if anyone at the Times is reading this, I’ll gladly take it off your hands. ;)

But I failed to get Abuzz significant coverage, and that is my fault and my fault alone.

Other than Louis Gray’s great write-up, I couldn’t get a single other blog to run with it.  That tells me more than anything that the app isn’t as polished as it should be.  I had considered pushing out incremental updates, adding features every few weeks, but it’s clear to me now that those would only be bandages on a much bigger wound.  So the next iteration of Abuzz to see the light of day will be 2.0 (it will, of course, be released as an update, not as a separate app – I’m not pulling any Tweetie stuff, here).

I’ve listened to feedback and had a lot of great ideas come my way.  The interface will get an enormous facelift.  The user experience will be vastly improved.  The app will stand on its own both as a social media search tool and as a Twitter client.  I don’t want to let too much slip, but I’ll say this – I’m going to make sure the app is everything it should be.

Be sure to follow @abuzzapp for updates.

If I ran Hulu, I’d charge $4.99 a month to subscribe to a show with ads, $7.99 a month without ads.  You’d get the newest shows plus the entire back catalog.  And, here’s a biggie – I’d let you watch it on your TV.

Short clips would stay as-is – the ones that go viral bring enormous amounts of attention to their respective shows.

I’d make a free iPhone app available so that you could watch the shows you’ve subscribed to on the go.

Now, it’s probably a longshot that you’ll see any of these moves made, at least not in the near future.  These would put Hulu head-to-head with the same cable companies that pay to carry the networks.  But if I ran Hulu, I’d worry less about maintaining the status quo.  I’d worry more about the future and I’d make sure my business was ahead of the curve, not playing catch up.

I played with what I felt was the final version about two weeks ago and ultimately decided to hold off until a few more things were added.  The features in question were features I had planned to issue in a later update but instead found vital to what became Abuzz 1.0.  I’m thrilled to say that Abuzz is now in the App Store.

If you plan on downloading the app, I would love to get your thoughts on it.  Be sure to shoot me an email – shawnfarner [at] gmail [dot] com.  Also, check out the official Abuzz web site over at AbuzzApp.com.

Finally, I’d like to thank Louis Gray for this great writeup.

I’m hoping to develop Abuzz past what everyone has seen so far – I won’t be satisfied until it’s a must-have for iPhone owners.  I encourage you to ping me with ideas for features you’d like to see in updates.  Email, call, text (717-884-9763) – it’s all good. :)

Thank you all so much,

Shawn

What’s the point?

If you come to play with something that’s only a *little* better than what is already offered, you aren’t making a very compelling case for users to switch. Most will stay with what they’re already invested in.

That’s why you need to go for the grand slam. If it means taking some more time to get your app out there for the world to experience, take that time. Make it something that people *want* to try out and *want* to stick with.

It’s either that or waste your time building the next deadpooled project. The choice is yours.

I could do another iPhone app.  I have some ideas I’ve been kicking around and it doesn’t look like anyone else is doing them.  Plus, after Abuzz, I feel confident that I could manage such a project and do so more smoothly.  That route is open, but I’m currently looking in a different direction.

I want to do something disruptive.