New iOS Apps Make Me Happy

What is significant about this?

I uploaded it to Flickr, using the brand spanking new Flickr iPhone app.  Why is that significant?  Because it uploaded the full sized image!  The old app couldn’t do that.  The old app shrunk the image down.  Why on earth would a huge photo sharing web service have a mobile app that reduced the resolution of the images it uploaded?  What they hell were they thinking??

Anyway, the problem is gone.  The new app uploads the full image.  It also has all sorts of instagramish filters that I totally ignored.  I might play with them eventually, but not this time.  I have pretty much stopped using Instagram.  I actually deleted my account in protest of the removal of Twitter and (more importantly) Posterous integration, but then I went and opened another account.  These days, when I want vintage looking camera phone pictures I go to hipstamatic.

Anyway, back on subject.  I never really used the old Flickr mobile app because it sucked.  Simply.  I stuck to the web for my mobile Flickr needs, even though the Flickr mobile site kinda sucks too.  I haven’t really done much with the new app, so I’m not going to declare it a success of anything.  I am going to say that it’s a step in the right direction.  When Marissa Mayer took over as the CEO of Yahoo I was among the many who publicly begged her to restore Flickr back to its former glory.  I love Flickr.  I want everyone and their mother to use Flickr.  I want Flickr to once again be THE place on the web for photography, whether it be professionals posting magnificent works of photographic art, or dweebs like me posting hundreds of random camera phone images mixed in with slightly higher quality, but no less pointless vacation pictures.  Basically, I want Flickr to rule again.  May this new app be a sign that Yahoo is actually going to support, develop, and grow Flickr once again.

In other free iOS app news…

It’s back…

Google Maps is finally back!  Oh happy day!  No longer do we need to worry that our iPhone’s maps app is going to lead us to the wrong place, or lead us to the right place only to find out that the thing we’re looking for isn’t there.  Peace of mind returns!

I had the new Google Maps app installed literally within seconds of hearing it was available.  I couldn’t grab it fast enough.  I only really used Apple Maps once, but after hearing all the horror stories and even hearing Tim Cook apologize for how crappy it is, I never even considered giving it a chance.  Even before taking the last update I was playing with Waze quite a bit, but I still prefer Google.  Tried and true, trusted Google Maps.  It’s nice to have you back, old friend.  We’ve missed you.