People will always find a way to tell stories. See: Vine

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Credit: mashable.com

I think it’s one of those fascinating truths about human nature: people will always find a way to connect, and they will always find a way to tell stories. No matter how much time allotted or space given, people will humanize technology.

So, two things inspired today’s post: first, I found myself burning time on Vinepeek again today and second, I saw this article about Khoa on Mashable.com.

If you didn’t feel compelled to click the Vinepeek link, a quick summary: Vinepeek shows every public mini-video posted to Vine in real time, continuously. It’s a random stream-of-consciousness view into Vine users’ lives, at 7-seconds a pop.

I could (and might) write a whole post about the ways that Vinepeek provides interesting insights on a variety of topics, but today I’m going to just focus on storytelling.

While, at any given moment there is a steady stream of random vines, without fail you will soon see a story being told. While a vine can be simply a short video, it can also be stop-motion. It’s in the stop motion that you see all kinds of 7-second movies.

It’s these 7-second movies that I find fascinating. This was not how Vine was “intended” to be used, but people found a way to make art. Enter Khoa. He makes amazing stop-motion artwork on Vine. With just paper, Vine, and a boatload of creativity, he found a way to tell compelling stories in a minimalist environment.

I think Khoa, and Vinepeek serve as a great reminder that behind all of the technology online, there are people looking to connect with one another and tell stories.

The 3 Horsemen of the Phonecalypse: James’ iPhone Predictions

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So, this is my official predictions for today’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event. After numerous discussions, and tons of speculation, I decided that I’d put my money where my mouth is and put into writing, for all the web to see, my official predictions for the new iPhones. (A quick disclosure note, a lot of these ideas are not purely my own, but rather my predictions are a collection of ideas presented to me by multiple people and multiple blogs. Engadget and BGR especially.)

Update after event: So, that was disappointing…I mean, it’s cool I was so right about the iPhone 4 & 4S, but it’s a bummer Apple didn’t announce their future-focused phone. For the first time since it’s introduction, a new iPhone is totally average (or below-average) compared to its rivals. Anyway, the things in green are things I was right about and the things in red are the things I was wrong about, and orange is almost. And, the iPhone 5 is coming, so I’m just striking it out for now.

  • There will be 3 iPhone models being sold starting today.
    • The iPhone 4 (now priced $99)
    • The iPhone 4S (priced $199)
    • The iPhone 5 (priced $299)
  • iOS 5 will be made available (Next week is close enough)
    • “Assistant” will be announced (It was called “Siri”, but whatevs, close enough)
  • iPhone 4 Changes
    • None. (Price?)
  • iPhone 4S
    • Thinner than iPhone 4, but similar body (think iPod Touch)
    • 3.7″ Screen (My point was that it wasn’t going to be 4″, so I’m giving myself half credit here.)
    • A5 processor
    • 3G (I don’t call 14.4 Mbps HSPA+ 4G)
    • 8-Megapixel Camera
    • iOS 5
  • iPhone 5
    • Thinner than the iPhone 4, but wider
    • Larger, rectangular, home button (with touch sensitivity?)
    • 4″ Screen
    • A6 Processor
    • 4G (21.1 Mbps HSPA+ / VZW LTE / WiMax)
    • 8-Megapixel Camera
    • iOS 5

So, if count my iPhone 5 predictions, my score is: 10.5/20 (53%), but if you don’t, my score is 10.5/13 (81%). And, I plan to come back when the iPhone 5 is announced, and be proven right on those things :p

Not The iSlate: James’ Tablet Predictions

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So, I’ve been following the coverage of the infamous Apple tablet since, well, before the iPhone if we’re being completely honest, but there was something about the beginning of this wave that made me believe there was an actual product in the works.

Anyway, after numerous discussions, and tons of speculation, I decided that I’d put my money where my mouth is and put into writing, for all the web to see, my official predictions for the forthcoming Apple Tablet. (A quick disclosure note, other than the first point, a lot of these ideas are not purely my own, but rather my predictions are a collection of ideas presented to me by multiple people and multiple blogs. Engadget and TUAW especially.)

Update after event: Well, that was interesting. Anyway, the things in green are things I was right about and the things in red are the things I was wrong about, and orange is almost.

Here they are, in no particular order:

  • It’s really NOT going to be called the iSlate. I have a couple of reasons for saying this, the first of which is that “iSlate” sounds dumb. Really, it does. Plus, and no doubt more importantly, the last iDevice was the iPhone, which was introduced three years ago. Between the Touch, the Air, and the (apple)TV, I think it’s pretty safe to say that iNaming has died. (Well, so, iNaming didn’t die, but at least iSlate didn’t happen…)
  • It’s going to have a 10″ screen. One of the earliest and most recurring rumors was a 10-11″ screen. Plus, someone brought it to my attention that the Kindle has a 9.7″ screen. Case closed.
  • It’s going to cost $999/699. (Wifi+3G Prices: $629/729/829) As soon as I knew that the screen was going to be 10″ I felt that it should sell for $750. I think at that price point it could sell like hotcakes. I felt (and still feel) that for that it could beat the iPhone’s numbers in a heartbeat. However, I had all but let that idea go when lo and behold on TUAW I read this, “I wouldn’t be surprised to see…a $699 deal for anyone who signs up for a two year data plan at, say, $39.99/month.” Bingo
  • It’s going to have a brushed aluminum casing. Just like the Macbook Air. Nothing more interesting to say. Oh, except I also think it might have a little drop-down usb/power/microdvi shelf like the Air too.
  • It’s going to have a tactile, multi-touch keyboard. Like this. It’s pretty clear something needed to be made above and beyond virtual keyboards like those found on the iPhone, Droid, etc. to be used in a more intensive environment, and the above patent seems right up that alley.
  • It’s going to have data roaming capabilities. Wi-Fi ain’t gonna cut it. Yes, it will also have Wi-Fi, but it’s going to need to do more.

So, those are the major predictions. The type I’d be willing to bet large amounts on, the one’s I’d agree to eat hats/other accessories if I were found to be wrong. These next few are strong hunches that I think will pan out:

  • It’s going to run a modified iPhone 4.0 interface. More than a few people have made strong cases that for what the Tablet is going to be asked to do, it’s going to require something with substantially more oomph than the iPhone’s got. So, while there might be some similarities, I think the Tablet will be clearly be running iPhone 4.0+
  • It’s going to be on Verizon too. The Verizon iPhone (or ViPhone) is almost guaranteed to be just around the corner, and so it might be worth it to Apple to get a head-start on making friends. Plus more than one analyst predicts a Qualcomm chip in the tablet, and Q-comm is synonymous with CDMA(And CDMA=Verizon..also Sprint, but Big Red seems more likely).
  • We’re going to figure out what the Lala and Quattro acquisitions were all about. I think there’s going to be some cloud-related-stuff launched or previewed. Oh, and iLife might make its way to the cloud too.

That’s it. Those are my predictions. Now that I’ve got that off my mind, I can simply relax and wait for Wednesday.

Feel free to leave a comment with what you think about my predictions. I’ve put considerable thought into them and am pretty sure I’m right, but there’s a good chance one of you is smarter than me and I’d love to hear a compelling argument against anything I’ve said. Or, congratulations are always welcome too :p

(Final Tally: 5.5/9 aka 61% overall, and 4.5/6 aka 75% for major predictions. Which, in my opinion, isn’t too shabby)