Water and Life

Recently I moved to a new home with a fairly better garden than my previous home but it was quite dead looking and dried up. It was initially my girlfriend Christina's idea to rejuvenate and improve the garden. So during the middle of Winter it bagan.
Let picture depict quintessence lest words be scanty.

All it took for the difference is some water every day or two to bring back life to these plants and the rain from the past couple of weeks really helped out , some of the smaller plants that we've added have just begun to sprout.

iPhone users are better off with Apple Maps

Yes that is right, users of iPhones are better off with the in house mapping solution from Apple. Just not right now.

As a regular consumer this is of course an insane notion, you have the chance of getting lost or confused with the new maps app. That's how it is and it is what it is. You don't know what it is until you see what it is and sadly wee seen it.

Now that we've seen it directly are you seeing everything else? Regular consumers will not agree or relate to my opinions. Yes it is a fact that to the vast majority the iOS 6 Maps is a spectacular fail. I don't deny it I accept it.

"Sometimes it takes a step back to take two steps forward"

What I do not agree with in another light is a Mapping software that is better on one device than it is on another, Google Maps. Albeit this is a double edge sword philosophy.

You can agree to be a company that gives free software to everyone , open source, non restricted, total unchained freedom to users. You can even provide your software for your competitor and even have it as  a standard feature, sounds familiar right , sounds amazing in fact. You can say that your software is the best at what can do and it's free. There are restrictions to your software however only by hardware levels according to devices. Lets go with 3 levels of hardware and with two or three manufacturers. Google Nexus One(2010) made by HTC, Google Galaxy Nexus(2011) made by Samsung, Samsung Galaxy S3(2012) and the iPhone(2007), iPhone 4(2010), iPhone 4S(2011) and iPhone 5(2012).

It's hard to pick phones which use Android since there are so many, although there are few which are that good hardware wise and which are actually branded by Google which makes things kinda fair to compare.

You could pair them Nexus One vs iPhone 4, Galaxy Nexus vs iPhone 4S and Galaxy S3 vs iPhone 5. You then can compare the iPhone 3GS with its other iPhone brothers you'll see why this makes sense soon.

The first time Google was seen to have their Maps on a mobile multi touch device was on the iPhone. And it was wonderful, you could zoom in and out with the touch of your fingers man! And on a device that could fit in your pocket that was cool stuff , first on the iPhone in 2007 five years ago. Even though it was on the iPhone it was googles software. Just some software running on some hardware right? Happens all the time. Then some new hardware came out and google could do some new tricks like 3D buildings, Navigation with voice and visual guidance. Fantastic enhancements. Now we all know google loves their customers and that's why we've hit all these cool things to use , everyone can use them and best of all its free! Free for everyone! Where the hardware is available on the device you have everything. And not just one manufacturer takes advantage of this. HTC has a piece of the action, Samsung of course , Motorola yes , Acer , Asus , Panasonic, LG , Huawei , Sony. I'm just talking software and Apple is no exception not at all I mean they had it first , YouTube , Google Maps and Google Search built right in on the original iPhone. Google is concerned about their customers even if they use an iPhone. There's just one strange thing. Google Maps is not quite the same on the iPhone 4 as it is on the Nexus One which is in the se hardware tier I mentioned before. Neither is it on par on the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy Nexus. The fact is the original iPhone and the iPhone 4S has the exact same mapping Software that comes standard with the Hardware. And that went on for 5 years. And do not be mistaken in believing this is Apples fault here, Google Maps belongs to no one but Google. Ever since Android was acquired by Google and adapted for touch interfacing there has been some strife between Apple and Google , mostly from Apple. However the lack of features from Google Maps on iPhone since 2007 can be seen as the same conflict on Googles side. It is war on both ends and Google fought well , Trojan Horse style ladies and gentlemen. We could have seen improved Google Maps on iPhone years ago comparative to other devices such as the Nexus One and S3 with features like Turn by Turn Navigation but it was held back on Googles terms.

Here's an Article from TechCrunch
http://tcrn.ch/UJxEsK
Detailing a report from AllThingsD's sources that Apple requested turn by turn navigation from Google but were reluctant to "give up a key competitive advantage for Android. Google also wanted more control over Maps on iOS and its attendant features, including clear Google branding within the native iOS maps app, and the addition of friend-finding geolocation service Google Latitude. Apple didn’t want Google having so much access to users of its platforms, the report says, hence the eventually decision to part ways."

Double edge sword.

Google wanted more and Apple wanted more and neither were willing to compromise and in the end Apple customers were compromised.So Apple creates their own solution with technology acquired and agreements from other mapping specialists and ,on paper, has something truly exquisite that has most of the features it's been withheld from Google but unfortunately has fundamental problems.

It's better for Apple to have their own built in Maps software on the platform they created , iOS. It wasn't working either way with Google Maps as standard software. Yes, on the basic level, the maps were working without any hitches but it was behind on every other level with the lack of advanced features Google gave to its Android users.

For the first time in 5 years Apple has turn by turn navigation as a standard feature only because they did it themselves.Sometimes it takes a step back to take two steps forward and that's what Apple is doing and it will be better for us as consumers so that indirectly Google doesn't screw us. Google is making an app for iOS as they did with their YouTube app(which also never saw improvements), who knows when that will be released and with what features, we may not need it when Apple Maps is really ready.

iPad Tethering on Vodacom

Update:
As of iOS 7 , Personal Hotspot has been enabled by default on MTN and Vodacom.
I can't say for sure if it on Cell C or Telkom Mobile , but it's probably also enabled.

There's been a fair struggle with Vodacom users relative to tethering their New iPad's.
It just doesn't seem to be there no matter how many times you try different settings or reboot the tablet. Why?

Personal Hotspot, the missing setting

The Truth About Tethering ... on Vodacom.

When the iPhone 4 was released in South Africa in 2010 it came with a feature called "Personal Hotspot" , previously on the iPhone 3G and 3GS it was known as "Tethering" where you could share your iPhone's data connection to your computer through a connected USB cable or through Bluetooth or both.
With the iPhone 4 though , you could share the data connection with WIFI as well and this works on Vodacom right now, there may be an issue for some users with the iPhone 4S but I'll come to that later. The iPad( ofcourse only the 3G/Cellular models ) has never had Tethering or Personal Hotspot until the release of the "New iPad", only the New iPad , not iPad 2.  For Tethering or Personal Hotspot to function at all, you first need the correct Access Point Name(APN) to be entered into some settings on the device.

In some countries there is a charge for using Tethering on a mobile device like an iPhone or iPad, lucky for us Vodacom and other ISP's in South Africa don't charge for it and I don't see why they should since using one data connection for multiple devices consumes more data resulting in the need for more data.

Using Vodacom that APN would be "iphone.vodacom.za" . However , this does not work for the New iPad. The reason it's not functioning is actually not a fault by Vodacom, Apple is restricting the iphone.vodacom.za APN and Vodacom needs Apple's blessing in order for their subscribers to use Personal Hotspot on the New iPad regardless if the feature works on the iPhone. Vodacom is currently in negotiations with Apple on a high level to bring Personal Hotspot  to the New iPad on Vodacom and from what I heard from it's going well , we should see the feature enabled on New iPads on Vodacom later on , they couldn't give me an ETA on when this will happen.

For some users the problem with Personal Hotspot on the New iPad is also effecting the iPhone 4S.
Confusing isn't but there you go , works on iPhone 4 but not 4S . I am not certain but this may be an iOS 5/6 difference for the iPhone 4S.

If you do want to use this feature on the New iPad, using 8ta or Cell C works quite fine, might need to reboot your device after editing the APN but it sure does work. I can't say if it works on MTN or Virgin Mobile but i'm guessing it does. The APN for 8ta and Cell C is "internet" , for Virgin Mobile it would be vdata, probably need to chop that Virgin Mobile SIM to fit.