Episode 111 – Resolutionary *sigh* – 3/8/2012

40 thoughts on “Episode 111 – Resolutionary *sigh* – 3/8/2012”

1. 100_Hertz just replied to your comment:

    
    
   oh, bummer.  i thought it was cross-platform  :/

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2. *siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh*

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3. Sponsored by the American Egg Board.

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4. Watching the podcast in video form has been awesome these past few weeks, but now that Bricked is over, are the video podcasts going back to being member only?

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5. GASP! A wild Brad appears!

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6. Are they suppose to review it or just to be apple fans? I am out of here

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7. This podcast will piss me off. I can’t wait to listen because the guys are so damned entertaining, but I am entirely prepared to be pissed off.

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8. I wonder if the tipping point has been reached, and eventually all Tested will be are Apple fans. I’m one of them, but I can surely understand why those who are more comfortable with Android or Windows might feel unease with how rampant our favoritism can be.

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9. I wonder if the tipping point has been reached, and eventually all Tested will be are Apple fans. I’m one of them, but I can surely understand why those who are more comfortable with Android or Windows might feel unease with how rampant our favoritism can be.

   Brad 🙂 iPadcast 🙁

   It seems like they’ve got progressively more slanted since the site started. I think it’s Gary’s influence, I love the guy but he gives no illusions as to his biases and has no time for things he isn’t invested in.

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10. Will, Norm

    You guys were dead wrong saying that its less models then before.

    If you want a 3g+4g iPad, you still have to choose from the at&t model, and the verizon model. Just check apple store, after selecting, colour, and 4g, you have to choose verizon or at&t, its not like the iphone 4s.

    Sadly

    Just thought i should point that out

    Reply

11. Am I the only person that hates the term post-PC. Try replacing post-PC with post-OSX and see if you still feel comfortable with.

    also, post-PC, iphoto on iPad. How do I get my pictures on it?

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12. Favoritism isn’t the issue, they can love all apple products all they like. Its when that favoritism leads to omitting the competition without serious discussion. Essentially fanboyism, and being a fanboy journalist/reviewer essentially makes you a worse journalist in an empirical sense. They can talk about apple products all they like, as long as it isn’t followed by; ” Oh [Company other then apple], pff who cares about [Company other then apple] “

    I personal like to tinker with my tech, so unfortunately i’ll never own an apple product with the companies current prerogative. I’m also starting to get tired of ” It should just work, without any work”. I feel like the tested crew is turning into a soccer mom group, unwilling to learn and tinker. Technology breaking is how most of us learned about technology, and how it worked. Seems like tinkering and fixing is becoming taboo, and now being tech savvy means you can regurgitate company spec PR.

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13. I believe the description for this episode should say Canon 5D Mark 3 instead of Mark 2

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14. Yeah, as Will pointed out, there will likely be quite a bit of upscaling for many 3D games and potentially in some 2D games/apps. And unfortunately, sharper displays don’t generally do upscaling any favors. If I drop the resolution of my PC to half what it is now and have either my 5870 or 24″ Ultrasharp scale it back up, it looks a hot goddamned mess. Frankly I don’t see a tablet handling it better.

    Aside from those upscaling concerns, it’s a shame there hasn’t been news of more significant OS developments. You would think the bump in processing power, memory, and the sharpened display would allow a better multitasking solution than swapping through paused apps via the drawer. Perhaps something like what Norm mentioned a while ago where even if it isn’t actual windows for some apps, something along the lines of Win8’s ability to dedicate a portion of your screen to a media player or chat client.

    Hell, maybe with the extra horsepower some basic widgets could be introduced (nothing too crazy, as it would start eating away at battery life) instead of simply the rows and rows of app icons/folders and having to launch one for just about anything more advanced than telling the time and date and basic iTunes control.

    All that said, personally, I have no interest in the iPad. I have a phone that does everything they do and more. I don’t need a big one. If I need to do anything more advanced, chances are I need a laptop…or at least something more than iOS currently offers.

    Also, an updated screen, camera, LTE, and requisite hardware improvement to compensate for the higher resolution is enough to discount the possibility of any real competition in the tablet market from either Android or Windows 8? And you call out people as haters or trolls for saying you’re an Apple fanboy? Right.

    At least Norm and Will realize that a lack of competition is actually a terrible thing and admit that there could very well be a decent Win8 tablet on the horizon.

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15. Eclipse is very easy to install. If a developer has a problem with Eclipse it’s a PEBKAC issue.

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16. Am I the only person that hates the term post-PC.

    No. The term is nonsense. This notion of a post-PC era is bullshit. And I’m pretty sure the guys know this.

    Some are apparently letting the popularity of these gadgets (that’s right…gadgets) fool them into thinking PCs (desktops/’normal’ laptops) have become downright passé.

    The popularity of full-fledged OSes, a mice and real keyboards, a decent sized monitor or two, the ability to use multiple peripherals easily, and systems with more power than the best phone, tablet, or even ultrabook can muster is not waning. People just tend to have very selective observation in the tech world.

    The reality is we aren’t “post” anything. The PC (again, referring in general to desktops and most laptops) is still very much alive and well for the vast majority of the population. They exist alongside all the other random gadgets we use. They are continually developing and advancing right along with them as well.

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17. I couldn’t have said it any better. Thank you putting my thoughts on “page”(?).

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18. Eh, my ipad 1 is still going strong. I bought it as a novelty in all honesty. Depending on how the ipad apps now evolve will be interesting. Seeing if my old ipad can keep up is the deciding factor on whether to get a new one or not.

    I have one as well and will not be upgrading. I use it primarily for Kindle reading and it works just fine. It’s so comfortable reading I can literally read a whole book in one go. The browser is a piece of shit, unfortunately. I bought it when the iPad 2 was announced and the iPad 1 was reduced 25% (it was on sale another 2 weeks in Europe before the iPad 2 was shipped).

    I also did my research beforehand so I knew that I could do all the fun stuff like watching video and reading books without getting tied to my iTunes account. Kindle is available on all platforms. So if I need to replace my iPad I can again compare and choose the best fit and don’t have to default to another iOS device.

    Regarding the video, I had to switch it off at “Those poor sods” and “Why are we spending time on this”. Pitying Samsung after Apple started a smear campaign with their mud slinging on the Twitter app? Gimme a break. Clearly a sign that Apple is feeling Android/Windows’s hot breath and can’t sell iPads anymore based on their features alone.

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19. Block whatever you want Will, delete this comment, do what you will. How can anyone who nearly has a heart attack at the mere mention of a new iPad and claims that he will “crap his pants” when he sees the screen, and be fully invested into the iOS system not be considered an Apple fanboy? Where is the line crossed to fall into the fandom? The denial is laughable, like a bad running joke. It’s not a bad term, I don’t care what you like. Order ten thousand iPads and swim in them like Scrooge McDuck. Just annoying that he keeps bringing up the subject. I respect Gary for the fact that he doesn’t give a crap and openly embraces it.

    I also agree with other comments. Yes, Apple products bring in the page views and the Tested crew love Apple products, fine. You can’t just blow off any talk about any other product. There are lots of Windows and Android products out there that people think are good and they care about. They deserve attention too! Sadly, most articles about those seem to only be written by out of house sources.

    

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20. Block whatever you want Will, delete this comment, do what you will. How can anyone who nearly has a heart attack at the mere mention of a new iPad and claims that he will “crap his pants” when he sees the screen, and be fully invested into the iOS system not be considered an Apple fanboy? Where is the line crossed to fall into the fandom? The denial is laughable, like a bad running joke. It’s not a bad term, I don’t care what you like. Order ten thousand iPads and swim in them like Scrooge McDuck. Just annoying that he keeps bringing up the subject. I respect Gary for the fact that he doesn’t give a crap and openly embraces it.

    I also agree with other comments. Yes, Apple products bring in the page views and the Tested crew love Apple products, fine. You can’t just blow off any talk about any other product. There are lots of Windows and Android products out there that people think are good and they care about. They deserve attention too! Sadly, most articles about those seem to only be written by out of house sources.

    I have owned one non-feature mobile device in the iPhone-Android-WP7 era, and it’s the Samsung Galaxy S2. I decided to invest in the Android platform because I’m a Windows-oriented software developer and I feel that Apple products are not designed with me in mind.

    I’m gonna be honest and say that my phone, running on Gingerbread 2.3.4 (even though ICS should be available by now), provides me with a consistently poor user experience. I’ve tried switching launchers, I’ve tried uninstalling applications, I’ve even reformatted after errors kept crashing my phone. It still sucks to use it, from both a theoretical design standpoint and in everyday scenarios.

    Android, in my experience, blows. No-one I know who bought an Android phone re-upped – they’ve all moved on to iOS. And they’re all way happier with their better phones, even though they’re not all exploring the potential of their devices or spending lots of money in the Apple ecosystem.

    Until every other company (except maybe Asus, who are doing their best and often succeeding) realises how poor their mobile products are and does something about it, they haven’t provided good enough alternatives for someone who buys Apple because they want the best experiences to be called a ‘fanboy’.

    And also I don’t think Will removes things from the internet because he disagrees with them. He’s not China.

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21. Man, the anti-gravity fist really cracked me up. That was a brilliant pull, mister Whitta.

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22. I’ve been a visitor to the site for a while now, coming over from giantbomb. I’ve never really felt the need to comment on the content before, but this is the first podcast that irritated me to the point that I closed it out. I understand you guys get a lot of shit about bias in your coverage, deserved and undeserved alike, so you’re probably past listening to any of it anymore. However, I don’t agree that it’s just a vocal minority, or I don’t know, that it’s some sort of coordinated trolling.

    That you guys have your genuine preferences and opinions is great, and I’m sure people enjoy your enthusiasm about the products that interest you, that you choose to use. That all of you choose Apple products isn’t a bad thing in itself, it’s more that you dismiss the alternatives out of hand. That’s what leads to irritation from your listeners/viewers – having your own genuine preference for Apple gear doesn’t make you fanboys, but pretty much ignoring competing products kinda does, to be honest.

    In contrast to the new iPad coverage in this week’s podcast, Mobile World Congress happened recently and you guys literally dismissed it with “So Norm, did you see anything that interested you at MWC?” “No.”. Now MWC didn’t have much decent from the evil empire of Samsung admittedly, but there were plenty of interesting devices announced. For example, a company I’d never even heard of, Huawei, announced some really cool looking phones. One in particular was 4.5″ 720p IPS+ quad core. I wonder how many of your listeners have heard of them, or would be interested in a device with those specs, or whether it’s wise to get a high-spec device from a relatively unknown company, or the actual benefit of that screen and that processor. Why doesn’t that merit discussion? For that matter, why doesn’t that interest you guys, as tech commentators?

    You could argue you’re a predominantly US-centric website, and that Apple is what matters in your home market. The latest ComScore shows in the US smartphone market share that Android has 48%, and iOS is at 30% (link). In the most generous estimate, at least as many US visitors own an Android as own iOS, and yet android coverage is relegated to staff writer coverage alone. Nobody in the podcasts even attempts to play devil’s advocate, going against their personal opinion, to open up discussion of the market leader mobile OS. App of the Day is again limited to iOS only, as if to say there are no Android apps or games of sufficient quality to merit similar video features.

    I feel like I’m beating a dead horse now, but consider the equivalent on other Whiskey Media websites. Giantbomb would, in my opinion, be a lesser site if everyone on the podcast only played PS3 games. If they unanimously dismissed XBox360 as “Clunky, slow, etc”, and dismissed it as being popular because it’s cheap, because 360 owners don’t know any better. If all their quicklooks were only for PS3 games, and 360 coverage was only provided in news articles by Alex and Patrick. Surely, in this context, you can see some small validity to the complaints from the vocal minority on tested.com.

    Of course the reality is Giantbomb provides decent coverage for all platforms, perhaps leaning more toward one, but nonetheless they discuss 360, ps3, wii, pc, and various handhelds most weeks on the bombcast. Their video features also cover all the platforms, maybe with a little bias toward one again, but certainly without exclusivity. As a result, I don’t really see anyone trolling them with “omg wut is wit all dis 360 bs evry week”.

    Why not have one of the more open-minded staffers on the podcast to provide more balanced and diverse discussions? Or, have one of you take a more objective position, personal preferences put aside for a moment. Why not include apps and games from mobile OS’s that are at the least equally popular in App of the Day? Why not also include Windows Phone apps too when they merit being featured? Listeners and subscribers can and should be able to ask these questions without being met with frustration and anger, or dismissive remarks based on out-dated 2-3 year old experiences. Visitors are what makes this website possible, so when they post comments with reasoned and polite points and complaints, at least address them in kind.

    Maybe, when it comes down to it, the resistance to open up the podcast coverage and video content to other equally popular ecosystems is your own legitimate editorial preference. Right now the site’s strapline is “Tested.com is for clever people who want to buy smarter, tweak better, hack harder, and watch us build Lego.”, and to most people that implies you look at all the widely available tech equally, making smart and informed calls about it. If you guys are about concentrating on your preferred vendors and ecosystems, that’s cool, but you should own your position. Be upfront about it, and people who visit the site will be less inclined to complain about the imbalance of coverage. Nobody legitimately visits macrumours.com and complains at the lack of microsoft coverage, after all.

    In the interest of disclosure I use wintel on the desktop, an iPad 2 on the sofa, and use both an iPhone 4 and an SGS2 for my personal smartphones (one personal line, one business). I’m also a tech writer for a living, not for any serious publications, only for ‘lifestyle’ magazines in print. Clearly I don’t do my own copy editing, of course, but I do try to write balanced articles for people who often don’t fully understand what they’re buying or how to make the most of it. I also do a little hobby coding, mostly C++ DX10/11 in visual studio, but as an aside I’ve done some Java in eclipse (for android) and honestly didn’t find it painful or awkward to set up or work in at all. I’m also quite a fan of the site, all things told; you guys are really entertaining and informative. I do think wider coverage and discussion would improve the site though.

    Finally, if you want to dismiss this as yet another minority troll, here’s your out. Courtesy of Jimmy Carr, a UK stand-up. This was broadcast around 10pm the other day on a free-to-air national TV channel, enjoy. “I will say this for Apple, they’re one of the few recession-proof companies around. I don’t think they’ve lost any jobs at all. Well, except for Steve.”

    hmm yes, very interesting thank you for all of those words.

    Oh I see, my mistake! You should try and sound less like a whiney baby in future, jus a little tip form me, your pal! xx

    Reply

23. I’ve been a visitor to the site for a while now, coming over from giantbomb. I’ve never really felt the need to comment on the content before, but this is the first podcast that irritated me to the point that I closed it out. I understand you guys get a lot of shit about bias in your coverage, deserved and undeserved alike, so you’re probably past listening to any of it anymore. However, I don’t agree that it’s just a vocal minority, or I don’t know, that it’s some sort of coordinated trolling.

    That you guys have your genuine preferences and opinions is great, and I’m sure people enjoy your enthusiasm about the products that interest you, that you choose to use. That all of you choose Apple products isn’t a bad thing in itself, it’s more that you dismiss the alternatives out of hand. That’s what leads to irritation from your listeners/viewers – having your own genuine preference for Apple gear doesn’t make you fanboys, but pretty much ignoring competing products kinda does, to be honest.

    In contrast to the new iPad coverage in this week’s podcast, Mobile World Congress happened recently and you guys literally dismissed it with “So Norm, did you see anything that interested you at MWC?” “No.”. Now MWC didn’t have much decent from the evil empire of Samsung admittedly, but there were plenty of interesting devices announced. For example, a company I’d never even heard of, Huawei, announced some really cool looking phones. One in particular was 4.5″ 720p IPS+ quad core. I wonder how many of your listeners have heard of them, or would be interested in a device with those specs, or whether it’s wise to get a high-spec device from a relatively unknown company, or the actual benefit of that screen and that processor. Why doesn’t that merit discussion? For that matter, why doesn’t that interest you guys, as tech commentators?

    You could argue you’re a predominantly US-centric website, and that Apple is what matters in your home market. The latest ComScore shows in the US smartphone market share that Android has 48%, and iOS is at 30% (link). In the most generous estimate, at least as many US visitors own an Android as own iOS, and yet android coverage is relegated to staff writer coverage alone. Nobody in the podcasts even attempts to play devil’s advocate, going against their personal opinion, to open up discussion of the market leader mobile OS. App of the Day is again limited to iOS only, as if to say there are no Android apps or games of sufficient quality to merit similar video features.

    I feel like I’m beating a dead horse now, but consider the equivalent on other Whiskey Media websites. Giantbomb would, in my opinion, be a lesser site if everyone on the podcast only played PS3 games. If they unanimously dismissed XBox360 as “Clunky, slow, etc”, and dismissed it as being popular because it’s cheap, because 360 owners don’t know any better. If all their quicklooks were only for PS3 games, and 360 coverage was only provided in news articles by Alex and Patrick. Surely, in this context, you can see some small validity to the complaints from the vocal minority on tested.com.

    Of course the reality is Giantbomb provides decent coverage for all platforms, perhaps leaning more toward one, but nonetheless they discuss 360, ps3, wii, pc, and various handhelds most weeks on the bombcast. Their video features also cover all the platforms, maybe with a little bias toward one again, but certainly without exclusivity. As a result, I don’t really see anyone trolling them with “omg wut is wit all dis 360 bs evry week”.

    Why not have one of the more open-minded staffers on the podcast to provide more balanced and diverse discussions? Or, have one of you take a more objective position, personal preferences put aside for a moment. Why not include apps and games from mobile OS’s that are at the least equally popular in App of the Day? Why not also include Windows Phone apps too when they merit being featured? Listeners and subscribers can and should be able to ask these questions without being met with frustration and anger, or dismissive remarks based on out-dated 2-3 year old experiences. Visitors are what makes this website possible, so when they post comments with reasoned and polite points and complaints, at least address them in kind.

    Maybe, when it comes down to it, the resistance to open up the podcast coverage and video content to other equally popular ecosystems is your own legitimate editorial preference. Right now the site’s strapline is “Tested.com is for clever people who want to buy smarter, tweak better, hack harder, and watch us build Lego.”, and to most people that implies you look at all the widely available tech equally, making smart and informed calls about it. If you guys are about concentrating on your preferred vendors and ecosystems, that’s cool, but you should own your position. Be upfront about it, and people who visit the site will be less inclined to complain about the imbalance of coverage. Nobody legitimately visits macrumours.com and complains at the lack of microsoft coverage, after all.

    In the interest of disclosure I use wintel on the desktop, an iPad 2 on the sofa, and use both an iPhone 4 and an SGS2 for my personal smartphones (one personal line, one business). I’m also a tech writer for a living, not for any serious publications, only for ‘lifestyle’ magazines in print. Clearly I don’t do my own copy editing, of course, but I do try to write balanced articles for people who often don’t fully understand what they’re buying or how to make the most of it. I also do a little hobby coding, mostly C++ DX10/11 in visual studio, but as an aside I’ve done some Java in eclipse (for android) and honestly didn’t find it painful or awkward to set up or work in at all. I’m also quite a fan of the site, all things told; you guys are really entertaining and informative. I do think wider coverage and discussion would improve the site though.

    Finally, if you want to dismiss this as yet another minority troll, here’s your out. Courtesy of Jimmy Carr, a UK stand-up. This was broadcast around 10pm the other day on a free-to-air national TV channel, enjoy. “I will say this for Apple, they’re one of the few recession-proof companies around. I don’t think they’ve lost any jobs at all. Well, except for Steve.”

    Thank you for taking the time to write this in a polite and well reasoned fashion. I have to agree with you on most points, as I too have iOS and Android devices. I don’t take issue with the coverage of products that are good (I am much happier with my iPhone than I was with my OG Droid), but the trolling attitude (really just Gary) is grating. I love the podcast, really enjoy the personalities and chemistry of all of the members, and just wanted to offer my own feedback as a member of the “vocal minority”.

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24. I’m trying to talk myself into upgrading from an iPad 2, but there just isn’t any logical reason. It makes sense if you’re purchasing choice is between an iPad 2 and the new iPad. I hope Will’s comment about if all you do is read makes the new iPad worthwhile is only directed to new buyers or iPad 1 owners. $500 for Twitter HD is a terrible proposition. For the wi-fi only models, I disagree with Gary saying the iPad 2 to iPad 3 upgrade is more compelling than iPad 1 to iPad 2.

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25. Very well said.

    And a very apt comparison of content coverage.

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26. You’re right, brother. I’m real close to unsubscribing to the few tech podcasts I actually listen to, this one included, when every week is 75% Apple talk.

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27. Great job guys. I missed the keynote and appreciate the summary. The iPad announcement just happened, I don’t get why people are hating on them talking about it? I also have trust in these guys, that if a Apple product sucks or have bad features, they will let us know. Other then Gary, these are not apple guys till recently. They are gravitating to a good product and UE, plan and simple.

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28. Wtf? 
    Anyway, great show as always!

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29. Finally finished this episode. There should have been three eggs. Of course Gary would only bring two and cop out. Dictation is not the same as Siri, it’s basically an Android feature.

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30. New drinking game, every time the word apple is said on tested take a shot!

    Everyone would end up with alcohol poisoning.

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31. …and that is okay. I never said anything bad about Apple. I’m happy you enjoy your Apple products. I was only stating that people, maybe not you, do like and care about Windows and Android devices. Thats all. I made the blocking comment because he said that he blocks such comments on Twitter because he doesn’t want to hear it.

    You must have misread me – I don’t own any Apple products and likely never will. I was trying to articulate the type of non-Apple mobile experiences that I’ve become familiar with encountering, both personally and anecdotally. And my point of explaining that was to channel it into the discussion of why I wouldn’t call the Tested crew ‘fanboys’ when most people I know have fallen down the same path that they have.

    For the record – I definitely do care about non-Apple topics (probably obvious, given that I don’t own any of their products) and I too wish they had a bigger stake in the podcast.

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32. I have listened to every Tested podcast ( I even used to listen to the PC Gamer podcast which featured Will, Gary and a young intern called Norman Chan way back in about 2006 or so) but I had to switch it off this week in annoyance. The reason why I felt the need to do this is very simple: It’s tone reminded me of an infomercial. And I HATE infomercials, for any company, and I certainly don’t feel the need to spend my free time listening to one.

    If you could find a way to express your (justifiable) excitement about Apple’s products without crossing the line into appearing to shill for them, I for one would appreciate it.

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33. Cheers for the reply, that makes it easier to understand where you guys are coming from. I straight-up apologise for my recollection of the MWC discussion. It’s entirely possible I glazed over listening to the myriad galaxy tab announcements and nokia’s somewhat misleading megapixel count etc (no criticism of you, MWC really wasn’t all that, this year). Also, I do honestly feel bad that you’re forever having to defend the site in the comments and on twitter, from often really nonconstructive criticism and outright trolls. That’s just the nature of the internet I guess, and why I rarely engage with it. That said, I do want to make one final post (appeal?) before I stop adding to the crap you dislike dealing with. So, I’ll leave it with this.

    A lot of the people posting this same old complaint don’t hate you guys, and despite some things said in annoyance, they probably can still respect your honest opinions. Yeah the odd person is going to be some hateful troll, what can you do. Most of the complaints though seem to be people who genuinely like you guys, understand the podcasts are op-ed, really enjoy the witty banter, but sometimes can’t help feel annoyance at how one-sided it becomes. As one guy put it above me, he loves you guys and has listened for years, respects your opinions, but is turned off when it goes so far that you appear as if you’re shilling.

    You have my genuine sympathy and understanding that with only two full time staff and a limited budget, it’s hard to get experience and decent hands-on time with the huge volume of different tech released. From my own experience and in all honesty, it’s not impossible though. You can build relationships with vendors and local retailers, or for the most basic look you can simply go to the shops and pretend you’re interested in buying a product. You guys know how to do your job of course, and you do it well, I’m just trying to demonstrate it’s possible to cover tech with limited resources.

    What it comes down to is visitor’s expectations. You didn’t really address it in your reply, so I’m going to reiterate it. I honestly believe it’s the crux of the issue. I’m sure an appreciable amount of your traffic comes from sister websites at Whiskey Media. The editors at Giantbomb have their upfront personal preferences when it comes to platforms, but they personally cover all of the gaming ecosystems. The Comicvine staff no doubt have their favourite characters, but they don’t only cover Marvel and farm out their DC comics articles. Screened writes about big studio blockbusters as well as foreign and indie flicks alike. I’m ignorant as hell about anime, but I’ll put down a tenner that Animevice isn’t all about tentacle sex and instead features the most popular as well as upcoming anime series.

    I’m going to draw a deeply unflattering comparison here, but what is your opinion of Fox News? They will swear blind they are an impartial and trustworthy source of news. Technically they do report most stories of note, regardless of how it reflects upon the policies of either party. The difference lies in the quality and amount of coverage stories get from them, with an apparent bias that most people can perceive. All of their pundits, their public facing personalities, share what I would call distinctly similar opinions on the decisions and policies of each party. Could I honestly convince you that Fox News are impartial news reporters? More on-point in this post, do you believe Bill O’Reilly when he does a segment refuting alleged bias on his part?

    That is an unkind comparison, and you surely aren’t Bill O’Reilly by any stretch, but they are parallels to be made there. People coming over from the other whiskey media sites will find it jarring that Tested’s coverage is more opinion-led, and new visitors will be disappointed at the outward appearance of inclusive popular tech news only to find a notable shared opinion from the site’s personalities, alongside heavily favoured video features. Unless your want to dispute comscore, almost 50% of US smartphone owners will find the site lacking in top-tier content for their ecosystem.

    I imagine all this elicits is an exasperated “yeah thanks for another long ass winding post, we get it already, but what the fuck do you want me to do about it, dude?”. You’re sick of blocking douches on twitter, replying to jerks like me in the comments, and that’s totally understandable. Rather than putting up with the same old thing every week or second-week, or trying to defend your position like poor old Bill, address the complaints. That doesn’t mean tone-down or disguise your opinions at all. They’re valid, funny, witty and entertaining, and a lot of people really enjoy them. I think there are two good ways to hugely reduce the bullshit you get each week, without compromising your opinions or the integrity of the site.

    The first is just to accept there is a huge portion of the market you’re not serving sufficient content for currently. Start bringing apps from other platforms (Android and WP7 alike) into the recurring video features. Consult your address books and attempt to find a willing ‘fandroid’ or ‘WP7-aphile’ who is personable and could fit the tone of the podcasts. Let them counter-troll Gary and include the other platforms in the joke, and more importantly in the debate too.

    Alternatively you could maintain the status quo, which many, many people enjoy, and be upfront about it. You cover Apple predominantly because you feel they drive the market and others follow. That’s a totally valid opinion that any reasonable person can respect even if they disagree. I’m not saying rebrand the site as an iOS fansite at all, apple are just the current vendor worth concentrating on. I don’t think it would hurt to be more honest about the content, to emphasise that this is an opinion-led website. Rather than saying it’s for people who buy smart (implying you’re a dumbass for not following our noticeable preference for Apple products), be straight-up that it’s a site for “tech we like and use ourselves”. You know the sidebar on the right where it says Contact Us, you could list the devices you’re currently using right there under your names. This won’t hitch your wagon to one particular vendor forever, but it will let people who land on the site immediately understand content focus is opinion-based and centers on your currently preferred ecosystem. This lets people adjust their expectations without feeling mislead. In 5 years when Windows Phone takes over (chortle), people won’t come on the site and start flipping tables over the podcast or video features, because they’ll be able to see you guys like and use WP9 devices currently and your focus lies there.

    Of course you could do something else entirely, or nothing and continue to tell trolls, complainers and well, people like me, to spin on it. That’s a totally valid response; it’s your site and if we don’t like the content, nobody forces us to consume it. Personally I find you guys likeable and amusing, large parts of your commentary to be accurate, and I can respect your opinions. I do find coverage to be lacking on occasion, and at times I find myself annoyed at the blinkered nature of it. In short I feel the site’s content or at least what it is presented as could be improved upon. I’m not seeking a response to this post, or to turn this into a longer debate than it is (you’d be entitled to a quick “fuck off dude” by all means though). I won’t be posting anymore ‘constructive’ comments, you guys get plenty clearly, and if I find a future feature or podcast irritating I’ll just close it out and keep quiet. On the whole you guys do a great job, and a lot of people appreciate it, keep it up.

    I do have a final question for Norm, which is Starcraft 2 related. I know you play protoss so perhaps you can help me with it. I tend to struggle against protoss players who rush me, particularly on maps where my base has a second entrance with destructable rocks, and I’d like your advice. How do you deal with a protoss who tries to slip his cannon in your back side?

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34. To all the people about Tested being to Apple oriented, Whiskey seems to be a very Apple oriented office, that and Apple is always big news in the media. From a defensive standpoint the only Apple devices I have in the house are the iPhone 3GS, and Performa 6100CD, but I suppose that investment in hardware makes me a fanboy as well. Of course Tested has to cover the Apple announcement in detail, if they don’t they will be behind the times, other outlets “will get the scoop on them.” They have to cover this stuff because for better or worse Apple is the biggest mover and shaker in the industry at this point. They may not be the ones introducing new tech but they are the ones making it sexy to the public in general and honestly that’s the bigger thing.

    If you want to be critical of the podcast there are much better things to be critical of. Norm needs to calm the fuck down, as does Will to a lesser extent. They both sound as if they are hyperactive (children) and are about to be interrupted at any moment. I can’t count the times I’ve said in my head to Norm or Will to just breath, your tenseness doesn’t get things done any faster it just makes you sound annoying. Love you guys and not saying I could do better, but I’m not a “radio personality.” I now know why you weren’t picked for amazing race. Next year calm the fuck down, take some sedatives if you have to. Gary is the only one on the podcast who speaks at an acceptable rate, you guys speed up and down when you catch yourselves, your cohorts on Giantbomb could be good coaches as well. Just chill a little. Breathe once in a while.

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35. I know I just posted but this has nothing to do with post before or much to do with what has been going on in the comments. I’m going to talk about what I want to see for the next Amazing Test. Will and Norm often talk like they have technical prowess, and I believe that they can build an awesome and stable computer platform. This is something that isn’t horribly difficult nowadays as long as you get a motherboard that doesn’t have issues on delivery. A MAME cab would be alright and fitting with the site, so that might be cool for the next one, but watching a half hour a day every day would be really boring watching someone soldering. If you guys are going to do this I suggest more time spent on the project and taking a format cribbed from the Power Block shows on FX. In other words you need to record what you’re doing in one stage of the project, ie cutting/routing the stuff for the cab and showing us how to do it ourselves and some time lapse. Just tune into Xtreme 4×4, Trucks (hope Trucks is still good, haven’t watched it since Stacey David left), or Musclecar. Just look at the construction of their episodes and realize they are weekly on long term projects, and take that in mind. I really only have a slight idea of what goes on behind the scenes but something like that for a MAME cab could be cool but only if it was done correctly, if we have to sit with you every day I would get bored.

    Also, I’ve always thought that if given enough enough money and time anyone can achieve anything. I would love to see you guys follow either of the books on building a home built “lo-cost” seven. In fact that is what I really want to see but I doubt either of you want to learn to weld.

    It’s always hard to take criticism from people who have no idea what you do on a daily basis. There are books on this car build and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but I’m halfway across the country. I’m just stupid…

    Edited to ad: you guys are probably too scared to follow plans outlined sorry to think you ever understood how a car worked. I forgot all my calculus to become a historian to see idiots run the internet.

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36. Fine, let iPad rule. As competitors attempt and fail, I’ll buy up the reduced cost no-winners. If its a natural monopoly, let it be.

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37. Is it just me or is Brad filling the fourth seat more and more? I guess the rumours are true of Brad leaving Giant Bomb. Who knew it was so he could join tested?

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38. Favoritism isn’t the issue, they can love all apple products all they like. Its when that favoritism leads to omitting the competition without serious discussion. Essentially fanboyism, and being a fanboy journalist/reviewer essentially makes you a worse journalist in an empirical sense. They can talk about apple products all they like, as long as it isn’t followed by; ” Oh [Company other then apple], pff who cares about [Company other then apple] “

    I personal like to tinker with my tech, so unfortunately i’ll never own an apple product with the companies current prerogative. I’m also starting to get tired of ” It should just work, without any work”. I feel like the tested crew is turning into a soccer mom group, unwilling to learn and tinker. Technology breaking is how most of us learned about technology, and how it worked. Seems like tinkering and fixing is becoming taboo, and now being tech savvy means you can regurgitate company spec PR.

    It does seem like more and more does Tested talk about apple products without giving much attention to other things people might be interested in. If you’ve read any articles lately on here you’ll notice that Norm and Will only write about apple and everything else is written by the interns or freelancers.

    I agree with you on getting tired of hearing “It should just work, without any work”, because that 1. takes the fun out of learning how something works and 2. without continually working on something it doesn’t get better and progression can’t be made. I think people are spoiled wanting things to work perfectly without having to do anything, there’s nothing wrong with having to work with it a little to get where it works fine for you. I have an HTC Evo phone that I had put CM7 on and after I went into the settings and tweaked them a bit, the phone worked very well for me that way, sadly I had to un-root it because I need to take it in as the plexiglass has broken and I think it messed up the WI-fi antenna, much better than the bloated Sense UI on there originally. I even made it so the CPU is under clocked to around 800mhz, instead of the standard 1ghz. Call me old fashioned I guess, since these days not many people seem to like to tinker around with tech anymore, but when I get something new the first thing I do is go through all of the settings and tweak them or not depending on how comfortable I feel, or until I understand what they do. If there’s a setting I don’t understand I’ll look it up in the manual. If I had more tools on hand, then I’d probably would start opening up stuff as well, since I love learning about hardware and want to see everything inside of stuff.

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39. This apple stuff reminds me of that southpark episode where everyone is going around enjoying the smell of their own farts.

     

         

    
    
    

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40. Soooooo… when are we building a MAME cabinet? 🙂

    Actually no lie, I would love to personally build a MAME cab right alongside Tested.

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