Tech Talk

Last month, Apple happily announced that more than 500 million applications have been downloaded for the iPhone since App Store’s inception in July last year.

However, a study by Pinch Media released a few days ago found that less than 5 per cent of iPhone users still use an application actively a month after downloading it. Only a paltry 1 per cent of total downloads are used long term. Unsurprisingly, paid applications retain users for a longer period of time than free applications, though the drop-off in usage is still pretty sharp.

As I don’t have the full copy of the study, I don’t know for sure how representative the sample size (30 million applications) is of App Store. Still, results of this study run contrary to the news we hear everyday, that independent iPhone developers are chalking up hundreds of thousands of dollars working out of their garage or basement.

I’m wondering if these developers are earning their fortunes from impulse purchases of App Store users, or did they just plain get lucky? Probably lucky, I think.

From personal experience, I would concur with the study results, as I’ve quickly grown tired of playing some of the games I buy from App Store. On the other hand, utilities are generally better worth the purchase as you tend to use them longer.

For example, I bought the application Things to keep track of deadlines and things I need to do, and have been using it regularly ever since. In contrast, I quickly grew tired of Real Soccer 2009 within two weeks of purchase, and soon started looking for new games to buy.

I find myself slowing down the pace I was playing games in order to enhance their longevity. In fact, I have stopped playing Hero of Sparta for fear of completing it too soon! It’s my favorite iPhone game right now, but if I complete it, I don’t think I’m going to play the whole game all over again. Yes, there will be a higher difficulty level unlocked, and you can retain all your weapons, but I still refrain from playing it.

Hero of Sparta

As a result, I’m more picky in purchasing items from App Store these days. Some of the games are either too short or will not sustain interest long enough for me.

Thus, for those lucky developers who struck gold, their pots of gold might not be full for long if they don’t come up with updates or additional contents for their iPhone applications or games. For example, new free levels for Hero of Sparta will be greatly appreciated and might attract new purchases, too.

If not, port some of the most addictive games in gaming history to iPhone, and you are sure to retain users for the long run.

Now, can I have Diablo on my iPhone please?

As we mentioned in our review today (PDF or text), we made a video showing what we put the Panasonic Toughbook CF-F8 through during our tests. It was shot on a digital compact camera and the editing’s amateurish (the cheesy piano song takes the cake) but we reckon it’s still worth watching because no one would put their laptops through such tests. The tests were far from scientific but here’s what we put the Panasonic Toughbook through: 

1. A 1m fall on its bottom surface (we had to use a carpeted floor to avoid scratching it) 
2. A 40 cm drop on my desk from different angles 
3. A 95kg man stood on it momentarily and then walked on it repeatedly 
4. Poured a glass of water on its keyboard while it ran

Except for the third test, we actually exceeded Panasonic’s claims. What can we say? We live dangerously. According to Panasonic, the Toughbook can stand up to a 76cm fall on its bottom surface, a 30 cm drop from 26 different angles, up to 200ml of liquid spillage on its keyboard and touchpad and up to 100 kg of force on its screen lid.

Unfortunately, we still managed to crack its screen (you can see the damage as we pour water on its keyboard) when my 95kg colleague stepped on it. I actually winced and felt sorry for the laptop. In Panasonic’s own tests, it spread out the weight evenly with a wooden or glass panel to avoid damaging the screen.

Tags: Computers, Notebook

“Digital is cheapening photography … ” I hear it all the time from older photographers, and some younger ones even.

“Look, now even PR can take photos themselves,” one veteran photographer said, pointing to a PR guy using a entry-level DSLR (digital single lens reflex camera) taking photos of the event we, the press photographers, were covering. “Sooner or later, we will all be out of a job,” he continued. I just smiled and got on with my job.

I’m certainly not going to rebuff the opinions of these veterans, whose photojournalistic careers span longer than I have lived so far, but I have my reservations.

I can see that digital has undeniably made photography more accessible to the masses by lowering the costs of photography. During the film days, it took tons of rolls of processed film (and money, in other words) to know your mistakes before you could correct them through trial and error. These days, you get instant feedback from the LCD screen on the back of the camera after you release the shutter, and you immediately change your settings to get your shots right.

But does this convenience translate into photography becoming a no-brainer, a lost art, or a vanishing trade?

I was wondering of the relevance of being a professional photographer myself for some time. I was even thinking of turning my back on photography! However, these thoughts dissipated last year while interviewing award-winning photojournalist John Stanmeyer, co-founder of the premium photojournalism agency, VII.

After I posted THE digital photography question to John, I received something almost to the degree of a tirade from him. I couldn’t remember much of what he said but I could remember that he was trying very hard not to strangle me!

I couldn’t bear to go back to the audio recording (or tirade) again but what I did remember him saying was: “Why all the pessimism? The tools we have today makes photography more exciting than ever before!” For someone who witnessed the best and worst of the human condition through his lenses, any “belittling” of photography is probably bewildering.

At that point, I realised the fault doesn’t fall on digitalisation or the tools, it falls on the human wielding the tools.

The tools of photography will change and evolve, thus the human wielding the tools must also adapt and evolve accordingly. Sticking to nostalgia is counter-intuitive and self-defeating. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, why not look for ways and means to experiment, innovate and be more creative?  Your new technique might not work, might even be subjected to ridicule or comments like being “too arty-farty”, but those who never make mistakes are those who never try.

Yes, it’s certainly hard to make a living out of photography now than ever before, but you just have to keep on trying. To quit, like 7-time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong said: “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”

As I walked to my car after John’s interview, I asked myself: “Do I want to quit?” Well, I think you already know the answer.