TheRobbBlog

I own a printer. A HP Photosmart something-or-other. Most of the time, I use it because it’s there. I could make do without out it but it’s there. It cost me £20 from a company I used to work for and I’ve only replaced the ink once. But once this ink runs out I was considering never using it again. And then I see this on the HP Ink Cartidges blog:

…I then took another HP 350, the same cartridge but this time the manufacturers date was 2012 on the cartridge, I removed the top in the same way as before and to be totally honest I could not believe what I was looking at, the hydrophobic sponge inside the 2012 cartridge is only half the size!!

I definitely won’t be buying any more ink. Half the size? Stingy bastards.

via Macgasm.

Instacast for iPhone has been updated to version 2.0 today and includes a slew of new features including some that are part of an in-app purchase known as Instacast Pro. From the Vemedio blog:

With Instacast Pro you can add playlists and smart playlists, manage bookmarks, configure automatic behaviors on a podcast-by-podcast basis and receive push notifications when new episodes are available. With smart playlists you can choose between Unplayed, Favorites, Downloaded, Partially Downloaded, Recently Played, and Most Recent episodes. You can change the sorting of a smart playlist and opt-in for sorting episodes based on the podcast order. With playlists you can add or remove arbitrary episodes and change their order.

And the cost of upgrading to the pro features? £1.49. Unfortunately, due to the lack of any kind of update model in the App Store, this is the only way for developers to continue to make money from current customers, without making them buy a completely new app. And even though I probably won’t use the features of pro, I bought it anyway. Why? Because I use Instacast every day and I paid a few quid for the app over a year ago. And I could continue to use it for another year without ever paying another penny. Perhaps we’re all part of a group where we actually want to give people money for things we like, because I’m sure before long, the app store reviews will be flooded with idiotic users complaining about being “ripped off”. I don’t feel ripped off in the slightest, I feel like I’ve been given an opportunity to make sure Instacast stays around for a long time.

∞ Instacast App Store link

This is why the Instagram team is worth $1bn.

So Read It Later have rebranded themselves as “Pocket”. New interface, cross platform and free. Great, so we can all quit Instapaper or Readability now, right? No. Just stop. Before everyone starts jumping ship from one service to another, read this article by Brett Kelly on choosing a text editor. Now apply that same thought process to your read later service of choice. Do you like using Instapaper? Enjoy Readability’s somewhat shady business practices? Fine. Just keep using it. Stop wasting your life trying out every imaginable service, webapp and text editor and just use what works for you.

HSBC have finally released a current account app for iOS. HSBC Fast Balance does exactly what it says on the tin: allows you to quickly check your balance and your five most recent transactions. Other features include topping up your mobile phone credit and multiple account support.

The main reason this app excites me somewhat is the ability to check my balance without using the horrific secure key which makes logging in so much more difficult than it needs to be. The app simply asks for a 5–8 digit passcode for logging in and you can see your balance straight away. There is no ability to make payments or edit direct debits/standing orders from the app, and judging by HSBC’s track record, this won’t be happening anytime soon. But at least I can check my balance on the go easily now. HSBC Fast Balance is free in the app store.

Apps, custom clock faces, notifications. I’ve backed it and I can’t wait until September to get my hands on it. Just watch the video:

Great read.

Yeah, that’ll help.

Joshua Schnell:

I don’t care what anyone says, fragmentation in the Android market is a very real problem, and it’s something that iPhone users haven’t had to worry about. Do you really want to be sitting around figuring out what games will or will not work on your iPhone? Or would you prefer to head to the App Store, check the compatibilitiy listing in the sidebar, and then install the game at your leisure? Obviously, I’m in the second camp. But what about you?

All the time this is still a problem, I won’t even consider an Android device.