The Android Workshop Blog

The Phil Bachman Toyota "saga" continues

I submitted a transaction dispute (of the $500 deposit Phil Backman refuses to refund) to my bank yesterday and I got this response. Let’s hope this ends quickly and in my favor…

We received your Transaction Dispute for your Credit/Debit Card.  

In most cases, following account investigation, you may receive credit, typically within 4 business days, until completed research.

You should receive a response from our Bank Card Center within 30 days either to get more information or to advise you of our actions. If we do a chargeback to the merchant, then they have 45 days to represent the debit to us. The disputed item may then go to Visa or Master Card for a final resolution. An involved dispute may take several months. 

Top of the charts the day you were born

Thanks to “Spiritinthesky” on the MacThemes forums for the link.

See what songs were at the top of the charts the day you were born: http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/birthdayno1

Me (Dec 14th 1984)

US: Out Of Touch - Daryl Hall & John Oates (“Great vid” lol, I kinda like the song.)
UK: Do They Know It’s Christmas? - Band Aid (Wow bad hair!)
AU: I Just Called To Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder (OMG computer animation! lol)

FileMagnet vs DataCase (iPhone / Touch Apps)

While trying to find the best file solution for my iPod Touch I purchased both applications to make sure I wasn’t missing out on anything. Both apps are for uploading/downloading and viewing files on your iPhone / iPod Touch wirelessly via WiFi; in a sense turning your iPhone into a wireless flash drive plus allowing you to view and manage the files directly on the iPhone itself.

FileMagnet $5.99
FileMagnet has the more slick interface and graphics of the two apps. The interface functions as you would expect any iPhone app to. The downside is that it requires you to run a Mac OS X only application to upload/download files to and from your iPhone.
My only feature request would be password protected files/folders for more sensitive data you might want to put on your iPhone.

DataCase $6.99
While the more ugly of the two apps it’s got the most features, and no application is required to upload/download files. With Mac OS X the iPhone shows-up in Finder as a shared volume. You can also use FTP to access the iPhone on any platform.
My only complaint is the really ugly and sometimes buggy interface (viewing photos), and again my only real feature request would be password protected files/folders.

Final Thoughts
I hope by having both apps I’ll be able to compare and contrast both apps as they are updated and improved upon. The low price points made it easy to buy both apps without much hesitation, and I commend both developers for selling their apps for under $10. For now my favorite of the two is FileMagnet just for it’s much more polished interface, even though a separate Mac application is required.

Games & Gadgets Wish List

My girlfriend wanted me to make a wish list so she could start shopping/planning for my birthday (in Dec) and Christmas. So here’s what I can think of.

Gadgets:

• 16GB iPhone 3G
• Logitech Harmony Remote (for my PS3, 360, 5.1 sound, and TV)
• 2nd Playstation 3 Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller
• PS3 Charge Station
• Antennas Direct PF7 Picture Frame HDTV Antenna

Blu-Ray Movies:

• Night Watch
• Day Watch
• Blade Runner
• Iron Man
• Transformers

Upcoming Games:

• LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
• Fable 2 (360)
• WipeOut HD (PS3)
• Fallout 3 (PS3 or 360)
• Gears of War 2 (360)
• Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
• Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise (360)
• Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise (DS) Maybe depending on reviews
• Spore (Mac)
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2/360) Maybe depending on reviews
• Resistance 2 (PS3) Need the 1st game before
• Mirror’s Edge (PS3 or 360)
• Prince of Persia (PS3 or 360) Maybe depending on reviews
• Starcraft 2 (Mac)

Games Backlog (Lots of DS games for my new DS):

• Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
• Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS3)
• Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
• Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP)
• Ratchet & Clank PS2 games
• WipeOut Pulse (PSP)
• Lunar Knights (DS)
• Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (DS)
• Metroid Prime Hunters (DS)
• Sonic Rush (DS)
• Mega Man ZX (DS)
• Mega Man ZX Advent (DS)
• Mario Kart DS (DS)
• Kirby Canvas Curse (DS)
• Super Mario 64 DS (DS)
• Luminous Arc (DS)
• Luminous Arc 2 (DS)
• Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
• Psychonauts (Xbox)
• Metroid Fusion (GBA)
• Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
• Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2)
• Beyond Good & Evil (PS2)

Wow quite a large list actually. Friends and family shouldn’t have trouble with finding birthday or Christmas shopping. I’ll add to this list more if I think of anything else.