Unfortunately, as is happening just a little too often with Apple these days, the changes mean the page in now prettier, and less functional.

Now, on some level I can see why Apple decided to redesign that part of the store. Here it is from the Wayback machine (h/t 9to5Mac by way of Ubergizmo.com):

So, yeah, sure, probably due for a redesign.

Here’s what it looks like now:

And that’s certainly prettier. But here’s what’s driving me nuts—in the interest of some sort of fealty to symmetry married to a disdain for differentiation, the refurbished store doesn’t offer enough specs on the devices that it’s listing for you to browse.

So… which MacBook Pro with a 2.3GHz i5 would you like…. the $1099 one or the $1269 one? Need more information? Of course you do!

So you get to click into every single product entry that interests you to figure out (a.) why the prices are different and (b.) whether or not they have the 512GB storage that you require of your MacBook Pro, as you know you’ll never go back from the storage you’ve got in your 12-inch MacBook, you just want a little more screen and speed. (Yes, I’m projecting.)

What differentiates those devices? The year the MacBook was released (since Apple doesn’t do product numbers), the amount of RAM and the amount of storage space. (Yes, maybe video technology as well if you’re picky.) So why couldn’t those details be put on the search screen so you don’t have to dig?

Remember that old store? Here’s what the results looked like:

Wait… you’re telling me I used to just be able to glance at the page, see what I could buy and how much I would save… and then get on with my day? Crazy talk.

Are we being punished for being cheap? (Don’t answer that Apple.)

So what’s the pitch on the Google Pixel? Is this interesting for Mac/iOS folks?

At first glance (and second and third) it’s amazing the similarities to the iPhone, including not just the look of the device, but the features Google is touting and even how it’s marketing the Pixel.

It seems to me that Google is taking control of the hardware and software experience with Android in a way that it never has, and the “feel” of that branding experience is very Apple-like. The rollout even focuses on how easy it is to switch to Pixel—something Apple has focused on for years.

(I noticed that, scrolling the Pixel’s page, there isn’t a cute little Android icon anywhere. The word “Android” shows up twice in the text and twice in footnotes. In other words, they’re burying “Android” in place of “Google.”)

The more I look at this, the more it looks like a play directly for Apple users—especially those of us who use a lot of Google products and could imagine being comfortable in that eco-system.

For those of us who are Gmail/Google Map/Google Calendar/Google Apps users… the thought becomes: ‘Maybe I’d be better off with a Google phone.’

(Check out this podcast discussion I had with Brian about the Pixel, another iPhone user.)

For some Apple users, it’s the chaos of the Android ecosystem that keeps us away from the lower-priced and sometimes better-equipped phones.

If Google can overcome that, they may have some switchers on their hands.

Plus, I’d gotten to where I wasn’t wearing watches anymore, particularly since I spend so much time typing on a MacBook Air… with most watches end up taking off my watch for most of the day to keep from scratching the wrist rest.

But, given the discount, my obsessive-compulsive shopping sickness kicked in and a started watching the Best Buy site. Did I want all-black (er, “Space Gray”) or the white band with the silver face? I was determined to stick with the cheapest options—$249 for the basic watch with the aluminum case. (Stainless steel was attractive, but I shunned it.) I decided I’d go with the 38mm face because, I told myself, it’s not like the point is to show it off. I just want to see how it works for me.

When I finally pulled the trigger, I went for a refurbished space gray that dropped the price even further to around $225. I ordered it online and drove about 10 miles to Best Buy to collect it.

A comedy of errors ensued.

After getting home with the watch, I opened the box to find that it didn’t have a charger. With 20 minutes to spare, I called Best Buy, got the woman who had handed me the refurb, and she said she’d find a charger by the time I got back. A quick interstate round-trip and I was in the house about 30 minutes later.

With the Watch charged I paired to my iPhone and started to set up the Watch until it came time to enter an Apple ID… at which point I found out the Watch was still paired to its first owner. And, apparently, for security reasons, there’s no override other than finding that individual and getting them to relinquish control via iCloud. Since I did’t know who that person was, I put the watch aside knowing I’d need to return it the next day.

All finally turned out well; I had to spend upwards of an hour at the store that next night, but the staff finally decided I rated a new Apple Watch at the refurbished price for my trouble. (As long as my time is only worth $10/hour then I was OK.) I took my brand new Apple Watch home, charged it, and got it paired and set up with my phone and my Apple ID. Score.

So… what do I think?

After a few months of usage, I will say that it would be difficult for me to give up my Apple Watch. But there’s really only one reason that’s true, and it’s possible that a substitute could be had.

First… a few things I like about the Apple Watch that I could live without:

Tracking workouts. Yes, I do it, and yes it’s fun to see that I’ve hit my goals for the day in calories, minutes worked out and standing. (Yes, one of my fitness goals is standing. That’s where we’re at.) It’s not exactly a killer app for me—in part because I’m a guy who believes in lifting weights over cardio (although I do both) and the Apple Watch definitely know how to reward time spent on the elliptical more than it does time spent with dumbbells.

Alerts on my watch. Again, these are sometimes convenient, but I thought that getting text and GroupMe alerts on my watch was going to be a life-changer before I got there—now, I’d say it’s a bit of a meh. When my phone isn’t handy I definitely check alerts, but I’m not sure I’d miss too much without out.

Directions. OK… Every so often this has saved me, because I’m directionally challenged and have been known to miss a highway exit or get back on the Interstate in the wrong direction. But an iPhone, for the most part, will help me with that unless Siri has been silenced for over-exuberance. (“In 10.5 feet…”)

Weather and Appointments. I love looking at my watch for the weather and like looking at it for appointments. Both would work OK with iPhone and laptop combos.

So what has changed my life? Fundamentally, one thing about the Apple Watch has done that — the vibrating alarm on my wrist. It actually wakes me up in the morning, and without nearly 90% of the fretting that an audible alarm used to create in the morning. I get up, I get out of bed… I’m still not a “morning person” but I’ll be darned if The Apple Watch hasn’t changed me quite a bit by making me into a “OK, I’m awake” person.

The verdict that many have brought in about the Apple Watch—that they could leave home without it, but not without their phone—has literally proven true for me.

The only time I can’t live without wearing my Apple Watch is, oddly enough, overnight; it’s been, by far, the best way for me to drag myself out of a bed… with a slightly better attitude than ever before.

I’m XXXX,I am an hearing impaired,I would love to know if you can handle website design for a new company and also if you do you accept credit cards ?? kindly get back to me ASAP via my e-mail(XXXX1960@outlook.com) so i can send you the job details.

And thought to myself… well, I guess it’d be rude not to write back, even though this sounds scam-y. But then I googled that whole paragraph and came upon this:

http://blog.ihenix.com/nearly-got-scammed/

The money quote from iHenix:

Seriously? She wants me to charge her credit card and then send money to someone else? Plus I receive a $200 tip? I hate to use an old cliche but if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. 

So, just a heads up (and to drop this into Google in case others are searching and need additional confirmation) caveat designer.

• Category: Software
• URL: http://www.lemkesoft.de/
• Company: LemkeSoft
• Price: $39.95 (free demo)

Recently I’ve come across a few Mac folks (creatives, designer types) who surprised me by not being aware of GraphicConverter, which is my go-to application for most anything, well, graphic-y.

I’m not much of a PhotoShop maven; if you’re knee deep in Adobe products, then GraphicConverter might not be super-relevant to you. But for the rest of us, GraphicConverter is a very convenient way to translate images between formats, change image sizes, add background colors—even create illustrations, Web ads and other items from scratch.

I deal with a lot of images for the Web—as publisher of a local weekly newspaper and website, I’m often posting ads for the web or creating small images for a variety of adverting, marketing and sometimes editorial purposes.

And here’s the thing—lots of stuff comes in the wrong format. People sends PDFs for the Web; they send CMYK files when they need to send RGB; things are sized 2-3 times larger than they’re supposed to be; files come in too big (filesize-wise) for posting to our CMS.

For some of these things, I use Apple Preview—especially a quick crop or to save a file into a JPG; but even those tasks are often better done in GraphicConverter, particularly if you don’t know the source of an image and you need to check some things out.

So what can GraphicConverter do?

Basic photo editing and manipulation. Cropping, resizing, setting a transparent color, and retouching photos—GraphicConverter’s got tons of tools for these tasks, and they’re pretty straightforward to use. (I actually spend very little time with the filters and effects—there are some great ones, like the Depth of Field filter. I should play with that more.) I find that just having access to the Auto Levels feature is handy, and it’s got simple sliders for brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.

File format conversions. Clearly this is where GraphicConverter got its name, and there’s very little you can throw at it that it can’t handle. Preview actually does a little better with some native PDF and PostScript-type stuff, but I find GraphicConverter handy for pretty much anything else, from crazy old PC image formats to tools for troubleshooting more modern stuff for the Web. For instance, color spaces—people too often send Web images that they’ve accidentally left in a CMYK space… something you can see in a glance in GC.

Batch conversions. This is probably what I use GraphicConverter for most frequently.

Problem: Pro Photographer has nice camera, therefore-must-shoot images that are like 40,000 pixels wide. (I kid. A little.)

Solution: Make photos like 800 pixels wide for use in a Web gallery. (That’s what you’re seeing on the main photo at the top of this story.) GC can change the size of the photos, knock them down to JPEG and do all sorts of manipulations automatically and to a whole folder of images at once. Love it.

Basic words on images. I’m not much of a designer, but occasionally someone needs something done quickly for a Web banner ad or a quick logo or similar image; GraphicConverter gives me the ability to toss something together relatively easily—and, in some cases, make changes to existing stuff that simply need a quick edit so it can get out the door.

Image Browsing. It takes a reasonably fast machine, but GraphicConverter offers a built-in ability to browse your drive, connected removables or network drives and take a look at the photos and media you find on there. One fun option I just noticed—easy access to browsing your DropBox. Who knew?

Out of the browsing interface you can quick view, convert images, rotate them, print, e-mail, or even set a slide show running on a given folders images and media.

I’m sure this barely scratches the surface of what GraphicConverter is capable of but, given my own limitations, I’m sure there’s plenty I just don’t understand.

Still, as someone who has been dealing with images on a Mac for over 20 years—and using GraphicConverter for a long chunk of that time to manipulate and translate photos, prep screenshots for publications and do so much more than that for publications and online sites of all kinds—I’ve got to say that I’ve returned to GC over and over as a workhorse for dealing with photo file translation, manipulation and creation.

I tried other tools—GIMP, Photoshop itself, Lightroom—and while I’m sure they have their advantages, for my purposes, I just keep coming back to GC. If you haven’t encountered it before, give it a spin.

Rating: Highly Recommended.

• Category: Hardware
• URL: http://www.tivo.com/
• Company: TiVo
• Price: $199 TiVo Roamio + $19.99 month ($14.99 with 1-year commitment)

I keep thinking I’m a cord-cutter… and then comes football season.

Sometimes I feel like the Colin Firth/Jimmy Fallon’s character in Fever Pitch, because all throughout the winter and spring months I’m free to do anything I want on the weekends — work out, take long drives with Ms. D., visit the Farmer’s Market… and cut my cable back to those 13 super-basic channels (like no-tell motel cable) and then happily scrimp by with my Roku, Apple TV and some reasonably high-speed broadband. (I don’t know that I actually need both the Roku and Apple TV anymore, but I’ve maintained the habit of switching to the other when one “misbehaves.”)

But then here comes August — and the College Football headlines… and NFL preseason — and I tell myself I can handle it.

Nothing to worry about; I’m not even paying THAT much attention to the games. Look… I’m talking to people amicable during a pre-season Saints game.

And then, about a week before the season starts, I’m suddenly sitting on the phone and online chats for the better part of a day trying like hell to get the SEC Channel to turn on by 7:00 p.m. that evening.

By the next weekend, I’m installing a CableCard in a new (to me) TiVo Roamio so it could substitute for my cable box and spending another full Saturday afternoon calling hotline after hotline trying to get all my channels to show up on the damn thing…

And then on Sunday… I’m jumping up and down, poking my television, cussing like a drunk sailor and wonder WHAT IN THE $%&@ IS THAT REF THINKING?!…

But I digress. First things first… why did I go TiVo?

The reason I went TiVo was simple — an extra $99 setup fee. That’s the price that Comcast tried to sneak into the conversation when I was upgrading the cable to a new package and opting at the same time to get a Comcast supplied DVR. When I was offered the “X1” package and all of the nerdy goodness that came with it, I was initially excited, until I learned about the fee. That’s when I got self-righteous and opted out, telling them to drop me back to a regular cable box — the one I already had.

Have I now spent more than $99 on the tech I bought to circumvent that fee? Yes. Yes I have. But I think I may have an arguably better setup tech-wise, and I’ll be paying Comcast a little less each month in hopes of assuaging my guilty conscious for actually upgrading cable (ugh!) in the face of football season… despite my best intentions.

(And, of course, that also assumes I’m able convince Comcast to take off all the extra charges they’ve been trying to add since I made the switch from cable box to CableCard — which will require a trip down to the local office and a turning-in of all of their equipment, along with getting someone there to believe me when I tell them — truthfully — they I never received some equipment that they say I have. Par for the course?)

Once I decided to go with the TiVo, I did come up with some other reasons. The TiVo offers support for Netflix and Amazon On Demand, meaning less switching to the Roku box; it supports Xfinity On Demand, which means I can stop paying for Hulu Plus, and it’s got all sorts of iOS bells and whistles that might make it fun for the long-haul.

So how is all that working so far?

Roamio, Roamio

What initially impressed me when I jumped back into the world of TiVo — a company I hadn’t thought about in years — was the marketing and packaging of the Roamio. The Roamio is a step up from the “geek-centricity” of their previous-generation products, with friendlier designs, an apparent focus on simplicity and some steps forward that worked specifically for me — like Comcast CableCard support.

I opted for the base model Roamio because it can support an OTA antenna in case I ever decide to kill off cable again “for good.” (Spoiler alert: Not likely, but we’ll see after the Super Bowl.)

The Roamio Plus ($399) offers more capacity (double the HD storage) and built-in streaming to iOS and Android devices; something that requires an extra $129 TiVo Stream box if you opt for the base model Roamio. Still, I liked the idea of starting cheap (I got mine slightly used on eBay for around $120) and working my way up.

First things first — I love the TiVo remote. (Right?!) People have lauded the remote for a while now, and now that it’s also an RF remote, it means it can change channels around corners and across the room. That’s particularly handy for me, because on game days I set up a second small HDTV in the kitchen (I’m the house chef) that uses a simple HDMI splitter and cable to show the same channel as the living room TV. Being able to record a show or change channels from around the corner is pretty cool.

Second, the remote did a great job of learning the living room TV’s codes, so now we’ve got one less remote for turning the TV on and off and changing volume. (This is a good thing because it keeps me within spitting distance of Ms. D’s no-more-than-four-remote-out-on-the-table-at-once rule. Not that I’m allowed to spit, either.)

In fact, another justification for the TiVo was the idea that, in theory, it would simplify my home theater setup. That means Ms. D can turn the TV on and watch shows she wants without cussing me from across the room or across town by accessing the TiVo Central interface and jumping into live TV or a streaming service.

In practice, there are some hiccups — the TiVo versions of the Netflix and Amazon apps are both less appealing than Roku, and the whole UI is nowhere near as slick as either Roku or Apple TV.

I’ve also had the Amazon app crash on the TiVo, which I haven’t experienced on Roku or Apple TV; and the Amazon app has a known incompatibility with Amazon Prime, meaning no free shows on the TiVo; just rentals. I got around that problem with the Xfinity on Demand app, which also looks a little like Atari Pong, but at least gives me access to the HBO shows (The Wire, right now and Treme soon) that we were watching on Prime.

TiVo and iOS

One pleasant surprise has been the iPhone app — I’ve found myself “on the run” setting shows to record using the app when somebody mentions something important — so and so local celebrity has a segment on national news — and changing channels from the other room is also a great trick at parties.

Since I don’t have the TiVo Stream I can’t watch videos on my iPhone (or download them, which is a potentially nice feature for taking shows to the gym) but I can grab my phone and manage or delete shows, which is pretty cool when I’ve got a few minutes to kill.

Another surprise — from within certain applications, such as the YouTube application on iPhone or iPad, I can stream the video from the device to my TiVo, ala an Apple TV or Google Chromecast. I wasn’t actually expecting that feature (and, granted, I haven’t yet figured out the rhyme or reason of when it’ll work and with which apps) but it’s been handy when I’ve wanted to show a quick YouTube on the TV while the TiVo is up and running– just pause the current show (or live TV), toss the YouTube video up on the TiVo, watch, laugh at cats, move on.

The Trials of Setup

I will say, for the record, that getting all of this set up has not been something I’d recommend if you mind sitting on hold with a wide variety of customer support people from all around the world. (And it’s particularly troublesome if you’re easily annoyed by hearing the same welcome scripts, address verification processes, and “I hope I’ve given excellent service…” end spiels  over and over again.)

But remember — we’re talking about a non-standard configuration (CableCard in a non-Comcast device) and I wanted to do it myself without anyone coming to the house. Even though Comcast has a dedicated line for CableCard — and, to their credit, they don’t act like I’m breaking any laws by trying to use one — it still took a lot of back-and-forth to get as many channels to appear on the TiVo as I ultimately got.

In the course of that adventure I did have some hilarious interactions, some utter contradictions (call TiVo, call Comcast, call the CableCard line, call Billing) and still, to this day, I don’t actually have live HBO channels on the TiVo. (I’m kinda afraid to reset anything at this point.)

Everything else *basically* works… as I mentioned, there’s been a crash or two, and every so often a channel (usually a Sports Package channel) will flip over to the CableCard setup screen, which is also disconcertingly Pong-like. A quick punch of the remote has, so far, gotten those channels to kick right back in.

I’ll admit that I remain wary of this Comcast-TiVo frenemy relationship — will Comcast continue to support Xfinity on Demand for TiVo? And, even if they do, will the UI be updated? Will CableCard access get better or worse? Right now the TiVo interface is a welcome upgrade over the digital cable box I had before it, but TiVo is going to need to keep working on both the cable side of it and the streaming apps to stay at least up to par with the competition.

Macs and TiVo

In my research (yes, research… it’s called being a “nerd”), I was disappointed to find that the Mac version of the TiVo Desktop Plus app has been discontinued some time ago; I was, however, pleased to learn of cTiVo, a freeware, open-source alternative that makes it possible to access your TiVo over a WiFi network and download shows to your Mac, encoding them in a wide variety of formats.

Be warned — it takes a while… and some experimentation… and some storage space… to get a decent quality video from a TiVo’ed-show-turned-into-a-QuickTime video, but it does work, and it doesn’t cost anything extra, which is pretty cool.

From your Mac you can get the video out to an iOS device (in theory; I didn’t try it, since all my devices are a little too maxed out on storage right now) or you can just store the video for playback on your Mac itself.

The Current Verdict…

So far I’m happy with the TiVo setup and I’ve enjoyed using it; considering I didn’t have a DVR prior, some of what I’m enjoying is simply the DVR features such as pausing live TV and scanning through commercials. The TiVo DVR interface is great, as are the multiple tuners. The guide is fast and channels change quickly; nothing there to get to irritable about.

The streaming apps on the TiVo are a little disappointing, although the TiVo will search across those apps for shows and movies — including TV channels and Xfinity on Demand, which makes it a slight upgrade compared to Roku’s universal search.

The remote is a little cartoony looking, but otherwise awesome.

The fact that I’ve got to pay extra for the TiVo Stream in order to watch my TiVo on an iOS device will likely mean it’ll be a while before I actually do that. (I’ll update you if that changes.) In fact, I’m not sure how desperate I am for live TV or TiVo on my iOS devices, especially since it reportedly works only over WiFi connections. (I’ve read about TiVo owners who still hook them up to SlingBoxes in order to get the full-meal deal on streaming while they’re in the wild.)

In the meantime, iOS already gets Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, XFinity, WatchESPN, etc., so there’s relatively little I’m missing.

I have, alternatively, thought about the TiVo Mini ($149), which offers another Tivo experience for another TV in another room — although it requires a wired connection: Ethernet or MoCA (Ethernet over coax). Plus, service for the TiVo Mini is only $149 for a lifetime subscription.

Wait.. what? Ouch, TiVo… we have to pay per box?

How much was that X1 fee again?

[Update: I just realized that TiVo Mini includes Lifetime Service with the purchase at least until January 6 of this year; no word on whether they would actually go back to charging per box after that. There’s also a $14.99/mo deal for multiple TVs if you buy everything at once.]

[Update #2: I’ve gotten a chance to spend a little time with Comcast X1, and my first impression is I like the TiVo interface more; I haven’t gotten to fully play with X1’s streaming capability or mobile apps, but the TV interface update, while better than before, doesn’t feel like an extraordinarily leap.]

Interesting piece on LinkedIn: iPhone 6 vs any Android.

In it, the CEO of Fon (a global network of WiFi hotspots) talks about how he’s used Androids and iPhones side-by-side for a number of years, with the Androids generally winning out. Now, after his first experience with the iPhone 6, he says he believes he’ll be using the iPhone more than ever before.

Well I am here to report that my new iPhone 6 is the first phone since Android became competitive that beats any Android I now have. And currently I have anHTC M8, an S5, a Moto G, and a OnePlus One which is a very special yet buggy high end Android phone. Yes I am still hesitant about the non replaceable battery in the iPhone 6, I will have to test it will, see if I can last all day. But the iPhone 6 at 4.7in is the perfect size, it is incredibly beautiful, thin and light, it abandoned the “we are better keyboard dogma” and got SwiftKey, it allowed WiFi profiles that are almost as good as WiFi apps for Fon, it came with 128GB of memory so I can get a large supply of Spotify extreme quality songs and all the games for the kids they want.

via Video demonstrates reported iPhone 6 Plus bending issues.

AppleInsider reports on the continuing saga of the iPhone 6 Plus bending issue… while some seem to be downplaying this as “expected” due to the Plus’ size and thinness, I’ve got to say I wouldn’t “expect” this out of an Apple product. (Whether it’s an outlier remains to be seen.)

Yes, we know any mobile phone (particularly iPhones) can break when dropped or — as I once did — dropped and then ground up in a treadmill.

And, yes, this is certainly an opportunity for case manufacturers to offer a structurally reinforcing case for the Plus.

But I think it’s a bit of a whiff for Apple to let the product release without some testing to figure out that fairly straightforward use of the device could result in it being rendered ugly-to-useless, something you’d assume they’d be against.

We’ll see what the reaction is from Apple and how common this turns out to be…

UPDATE: In case you missed it, Apple has responded to #bendgate, saying that they test the devices extensively and have had only 9 reports of bent phones. They recommend that people contact the Genius Bar or AppleCare customer support for repair or replacement if there’s a manufacturing defect. (And, on a personal note, I got up close to an iPhone 6 Plus in an official Apple case this past week and it looks both structurally sound and a bit rugged and protected in that case, so I’m guessing the bending will probably be a non-issue for most users.)