Ms. Pac-Man Fanatic Reviews My Arcade's Ms. Pac-Man Joystick Player

It's been hard to be a fan of my favorite female Pac since Namco changed Ms. Pac-Man into the horrifying "Pac-Mom." Despite the lack of availability of the 1981 arcade port on the Nintendo Switch, Ms. Pac-Man is available for Playstation, Xbox and in multiple releases on PC and via emulation. 

But what if you have a hankering for Ms. Pac-Man in a more portable format? Sure, you could always download an emulator and [insert emulation legalese here], but what if I want something more authentic, something more tactile, something more like the arcade?

Enter: My Arcade and the Ms. Pac-Man Joystick Player. First of all, I have to give credit to the wonderful folks at My Arcade who continue to put out really solid replica devices with quality emulation. 

My first My Arcade device was the Namco Museum release from 2020, and while I do love the abundance of titles available being the Namco girlie that I am, the screen is washed out and stretched out, and unfortunately due to the size constraints the controls can be a little rough at times. The two best options for arcade enthusiasts looking to get their classic arcade fix, at least in my experience, would be the joystick player I am reviewing now and also the handheld Ms. Pac-Man arcade.

"Pac-Mom"

I like the handheld unit for portability. Gameplay is decent with a solid directional pad and a comfortable grip in the rear of the device. I don't quite understand why these devices require 4 AA batteries, but I appreciate the replaceability of AA batteries enough that it is a worthy sacrifice for overall device longevity. This device is fun and extremely portable, but it pales in comparison to the Joystick Player. 

Design

The presentation of this player is striking, from the bright pinks and deep blues, to the classic Ms. Pac-Man yellow in the joystick's ball top, the design is great for anyone Ms. Pac-Man fanatic like myself. I appreciate the inclusion of a high-quality LCD panel with a wide range of viewing angles for a device at this price range. The colors are deep and true to the original arcade ROM, albeit an updated one, as evidenced by the BNEI copyright in the start screen. More on that later. 

My favorite aspect of the Ms. Pac-Man Joystick Player is undoubtedly the control deck, which features a sexy Ms. Pac-Man from the original cabinet sitting on the edge of one of the game's alleyways, a mix of yellow, pink and blue immediately inviting you to play. Unlike the Galaga Joystick Player, this unit finds the My Arcade logo at the base of the control deck, a much more elegant placement than immediately below the screen. 

My Arcade is great at paying homage to the cabinets from which they draw inspiration. This unit is no different, featuring a glowing coin door below the navigational controls above the joystick that provides a nice touch and is reminiscent of other My Arcade designs, including the aforementioned Namco Museum player. 

Device side profile

Gameplay

There are two modes to choose from after passing the My Arcade splash screen, regular old Ms. Pac-Man and Speed Up Mode. The latter mode is my personal favorite, speeding up the game to a point of action where I need to hold down the marquee to keep the device stable. The feeling is not unlike my need to grip onto the top of the traditional arcade cabinet when playing intensely. 

Playing in the traditional Ms. Pac-Man mode is a tad less hectic in the beginning stages, but quickly escalates as you pass the pretzel level. The joystick itself is mega comfortable compared to the D-pad or the silly baby joystick on the other players. I found myself retaining full control throughout the game in a way that you really can't do with say a Switch joycon or the SNES D-pad (we all know what Ms. Pac-Man I'm referring to here...), but the feet of the player can only hold on so much without additional support from the top. All in all, this is indeed Ms. Pac-Man, and it plays comfortably. 

Sound on this player is fairly loud by default, so make sure to turn that shit the hell up if you're playing this in a public space. Everyone should know you're cool enough to lug around a miniature Ms. Pac-Man cabinet with a full-sized joystick. In all seriousness though, the speaker is pretty good and gets loud, but the sounds do feel a little off. This is something that GenXGrownUp mentions in his review of the unit, and it should only bother you if you were hoping for the exact sound of the original ROM. 

There is also a two player mode, and it is surprisingly fun to pass the unit from player to player as your individual games heat up. I'm not saying you should bring this thing to a party, but I'm not not saying that either. 

The Verdict

Whether you're looking for a fun way to play Ms. Pac-Man for years to come or just a fan looking for a classic arcade fix to keep on your shelf or a desk, this is a solid unit. It is also frequently on sale on Amazon, Micro Center, and I'm sure other less problematic places as well. This is the unit you want if you want to play with a joystick without having to spend an Arcade1Up amount of money to do so. 

Even at the entry price of $49.99 (yes, in this economy!), the Ms. Pac-Man Joystick Player is one of My Arcade's best products to date, and I hope that this design scheme continues to appear in future units. Already, My Arcade is poised to release more players based on Sega franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog and Revenge of Shinobi, and they look GOOD. 

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Oh, by the way, this review is not sponsored by anyone, and written entirely by myself. If you like what you read, please subscribe to the blog. Thanks for reading!

Hi, I'm Maxie!

My name is Maxie (she/they), and I am a non-binary transgender woman. I love playing retro games (mostly an unhealthy relationship with Namco arcade classics), reading comics and prose, jamming out to Dead & Co, DMB and Phish, restoring now-vintage Apple iBooks, and talking about my experience as a trans person in this current cultural moment. I am also a certified English educator, and a proud graduate of University of Cincinnati (B.A.) and Kent State University (M.A.T.)! 

I started this blog nearly 15 years ago now as a place to house all of my writing. Since that time, I have been busy furthering my education, traveling around the world, finding love, and most importantly, coming back to myself. 

In light of the Trump Administration's heinous attacks on our community, I felt it was the right time, in 2025, to return to writing and to use my blog as a place to document my experience as a transgender woman. I hope that my words will be help to humanize the trans community in a meaningful way. I also hope to use this space as a place to absolutely geek out about classic arcade games and the occasional vintage restoration project I'm working on. 

I am so excited to share my life with you!

<3,

Maxie

The Best Value Tablet: iPad Air 4th Generation Review (2020)

 

“What’s a computer?”

I’m a nerd. I collect and restore old iBooks and MacBooks for fun. I built a PC (who hasn’t in 2020?). I own a lot of computers. But there is no computer I love nearly as much as the iPad.

And I have had a lot of iPads. I waited in line for the first iPad in 2010, thinking it would be an ideal MacBook replacement, and it fell noticeably short. Beyond not having a physical keyboard accessory that was easy to transport, the original iPad simply lacked the available software and processing power of the Mac and was ultimately not sufficient at the time as a full-on ‘computer.’ I didn’t give up. Becoming particularly enamored with the idea of turning an iPad into a laptop replacement, I tried again, souping up an iPad Mini 1^st generation with a keyboard case (a ClamCase—remember those?!). Again, the iPad was not enough. I tried again, this time with the iPad 5^th generation. I loved this iPad. I managed to get most of my work done during a summer internship with little issue, thanks to an enormous library of apps and updated multitasking capabilities. I stuck with the device for a few years, and last year traded it in for the iPad Air 3^rd generation. This time, I would be studying in Tel Aviv and would only have access to this as my primary computer. Using Apple’s smart keyboard at the time, this was a good solution. But it just was not enough. The iPad Air 4^th generation, however, is.

iPad Air 4 is the culmination of a decade of iPad evolution. What began as a giant iPhone has grown up to become a full-on laptop replacement, including real file management, multitasking, and raw computing power that puts many PC notebooks to shame.

I believe Apple’s announcement at WWDC to transition away from Intel chips and to Apple-designed silicon will be the beginning of a much larger transition, as Apple merges its app stores and likely their software platforms—iOS, iPadOS, and macOS—to be one in the same. The Mac, once the golden child of the Apple dynasty, is losing popularity. Consumers who buy Macs have historically been content creators, schools and students, artists and moviemakers—you know, the creative types. But Apple is a devices company now (remember, they’re no longer Apple Computer Inc., but Apple Inc.), and they ship iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. Hell, Apple ships smart speakers and streaming boxes now. This is not the Apple of the 20^th century, and it began with the iPod and was cemented with the iPad.

In 2010 at his last appearance at All Things Digital 8, Steve Jobs commented on the role of their then-new iPad and the future of the traditional desktop Mac.

“When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks because that’s what you needed on the farm. But as vehicles started to be used in the urban centers and America started to move into those Urban and then Suburban centers, cars got more popular…PCs are going to be like trucks. They’re still going to be around, they’re still going to have a lot of value, but they’re going to be used by every one in X people. This transformation is going to make some people uneasy because the PC has taken us long ways…”

When Steve Jobs made this statement at D8 in 2010, it was a hugely different time for the iPad. Developers were just beginning to write new apps for the platform, the capabilities of the Apple-designed single-core A4 chip were still considerably limited—not to mention the impossible-to-upgrade and paltry 256 MB of RAM.

This is no longer the case. The iPad is a computer. 

Let me get this out of the way, any of Apple’s iPads could be used a laptop replacement. The entry level iPad 8^th Generation is a fantastic device for only $329. The A12 is fast and will likely feel so for years to come. Even the iPad mini makes for a great travel computer (it was my go-to on-the-go computer). The iPad Pro has already become a lot of folks’ primary device. But it starts at $799, and that’s just for the iPad. Add a smart keyboard and Apple Pencil, and you’re looking at over $1200. It’s expensive, and that is why it’s the ‘pro’ device. The iPad Air 4 combines all the best essential features with a price that is only $100 more than the original 16 GB iPad, and is markedly reasonable when compared to the Pro.

Design, Smart Keyboard, and Apple Pencil 2^nd Gen

The iPad Air is essentially an iPad Pro 11” with an ever-so-slightly smaller display, which means this tablet is a looker. From its futuristic flat edges and minimal slate-like appearance, this feels like the first consumer-level iPad that capture’s Steve Jobs’ vision for an immersive experience where the device fades away to allow the user to focus on content and software. The iPad Air features a new Touch ID sensor embedded in the lock switch, a single USB-C port, and a beautiful edge-to-edge laminated 10.9” ‘Liquid Retina’ display. There’s no 120 Hz refresh rate or what Apple coins ‘ProMotion,’ but it doesn’t need that to feel smooth and speedy. There’s no pro camera with LiDAR, but most people won’t miss it. There’s no Face ID, but Touch ID on this device is extremely convenient and quick. I hope Apple brings this to iPhones in the future, and it feels like they missed the mark not providing it as an alternative unlocking feature on the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro.

The story of iPad Air’s design does not end with the tablet itself, as Apple’s Smart Keyboard and 2^nd generation Apple Pencil are almost necessary to transform this device into a productivity and creation device. This is not my first time using the new Smart Keyboard, but it is my first time using it extensively. While I really enjoyed playing with Logitech’s Combo Touch, it was annoying trying to use it on my lap or in bed if I wanted a keyboard and trackpad. Apple’s solution feels like using a MacBook, just with less viewing angles (but truly, I have not yet found a situation where this is an inconvenience). It’s sturdy, and the iPad Air feels safe with the strong magnets holding it to the keyboard. I seriously shook the shit out of this thing to try and get the iPad to fall off, and it clung on with zero effort. Just as easily as it stays connected, it can be removed for when you want to use the Air as a tablet. Hell yeah, magnets! The keyboard itself has great travel and a trackpad that feels no different than any MacBook I’ve ever used. The 2^nd gen Apple Pencil is responsive and is a must for artists and content creators looking to get the most out of the Air’s large canvas.

Apple’s new product strategy with the iPad is the same as the new iPhone 12—modularity is the solution to the iPad’s prior limitations. Want to do work? Get the Smart Keyboard. Want to create content? Get the Apple Pencil. Need more I/O? Add an adapter or dongle and expand the port offering. Need more storage? Attach a USB flash drive or hard drive. We no longer live in a world where everyone needs an array of ports. My only complaint is with outputting video to an external display, which looks silly with large bezels tapering the sides of the scaled up iPad screen, and with no option for extending your display—you can only mirror what is on your screen. I think this is a huge setback for people who desire using an iPad as a primary device and is something Apple can and should rectify in a later iPadOS release.

Performance and the A14

The iPad Air is fast. How fast, you ask? After running Geekbench 5 for both the CPU and GPU, the Air’s new A14 silicon proves its worth. The CPU score I ran came back with 1598 in the Single-Core and 4356 in the Multi-Core. The Compute Benchmark showed a Metal score of 12271. In comparison, the A14 performance is more capable than the A12X and A12Z in some areas, and easily surpasses the processing power of the A12. That performance really shines when running apps like LumaFusion, Call of Duty Mobile, Photoshop, Lightroom, and Procreate. Virtually any piece of software on the App Store will run very well on the Air.

Of course, the new bump in processing power in the iPad Air is thanks to the new 5 nm process of the A14, which allows Apple to pack 11.8 billion transistors in the smaller package size than the A12. This, along with a new 16-core Neural Engine, allows the Air to process 11 trillion operations per second. For most people, this doesn’t mean much beyond “wow, this thing is pretty damn fast!” For the bigger picture, the advancements made with the A14 SoC (system on a chip) is promising for this pro-like device to run pro apps, be more advanced at machine learning tasks, and for future Apple Silicon to be seriously powerful. Not to mention the benefits inherent in efficiency, with Apple ARM chips not requiring the same thermal management as an Intel or AMD machine. Now, of course, the A14 is a step down from Apple’s new M1 chip in the MacBook Air and Pro 13”, but it provides more than sufficient performance for every app I tested, especially games like Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG, Asphalt 8, and especially during instances of multitasking.

One of the most noticeable upgrades from the iPad Air 3 to the iPad Air 4 is battery life and charging. I was able to get about 12 to 13 hours a day on average with long FaceTime calls, productivity, and streaming music and video on my iPad Air 4. That said, iPads almost never have battery issues when they’re still new, and Apple’s 10-hour rating is usually above or on par with real-world use. The iPad Air 3, in my experience at least, was similar, minus perhaps an hour or two of use. But the real story here is with the new 20 W charger Apple includes in the box, which charges this thing fast. I also tried to charge my iPhone from my iPad Air while it was plugged into power from the Magic Keyboard and my Anker USB-C adapter. The results were rather unimpressive, yet I look forward to situations outside of a pandemic where I’ll need to charge my iPhone using my iPad.

Can it Replace My MacBook?

In a word, yes. The real question to ask, is, should it? Apple’s latest MacBook Air is a screamer—a surprisingly fast CPU and GPU inside an entry level Mac—but it suffers from compatibility issues with iPhone and iPad apps due to the lack of a touchscreen. In truth, the only differentiator between a MacBook Air and an iPad Air is available software and slight differences in the chipset, RAM, and battery capacity. Whether or not an iPad is a laptop is no longer a debate, but whether an iPad could replace a MacBook comes down to what software you run. Additionally, the MacBook Air comes with four times the storage of the iPad Air by default. If you don’t need to store a ton of media or apps on your device, then the 64 GB in the entry model iPad Air is plenty fine. I’ve admittedly never filled up 256 GB on an iPad—but I’ve always had storage issues on a Mac. Regardless, if you want to use the iPad Air as your primary computer, you should consider getting the 256 GB model, as the 64 GB may not be enough on for long-term storage needs.

Does it replace your MacBook? For me, I think if Apple is willing to improve on display output with iPadOS and you don’t need apps like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, or the full-fledged Adobe suite (although, much of it is currently available with more to come), you should be pleasantly surprised with what an iPad Air could do as an everyday machine. With it’s powerful A14 SoC, iPad Pro-like design and compatibility, and an affordable price of entry, the iPad Air 4 is a wonderful way to be productive, creative, and have fun. If you’re looking for a great tablet that feels premium but doesn’t break the bank, the iPad Air 4 is the best option on the market today.

Wait For Apple Silicon—it’s worth it.

It’s time for another transition. For Apple, this is the fourth major transition in its product history, beginning with the shift from Motorola’s 68000 chipset to IBM PowerPC processors in the 90s, to the major overhaul of Mac OS X from legacy Mac OS 9, and most recently with transition from PowerPC to Intel. This isn’t Apple’s first rodeo, albeit it could get messy, especially for consumers who likely aren’t familiar with the differences between Intel, AMD, and ARM processors (although the RISC instruction set is only a small piece of the Apple SoC story). While there has been much chatter from the pundits exclaiming the glory of the Apple SoC, the rest of the world remains unfamiliar with how important this transition is not only for Apple, but for the entire industry. 

It is my feeling that the benefits of using Apple’s integrated System on a Chip (SoC) far outweigh translation limitations when porting over apps from Intel, and it feels like Apple really softened the blow with macOS 10.15 Catalina, which infamously removed 32-bit app support. There are few apps at this point I run that do not already run on iPadOS or iOS or at least could port over well with Universal 2, but I know this isn’t the case for everyone. Apple will seriously need to address recent performance concerns inherent with the Rosetta 2 translation process, but truly the best solution is for developers to recompile for the Apple SoC. 

Tell me if you’ve heard this before—you’re running a slew of messaging apps, streaming video, checking email, and working on several documents at one time. Maybe you also have Photoshop or InDesign open. It may sound like a lot, but with many apps running on different desktops and in the background, this is a pretty common scenario for the typical Mac user. With a desktop Mac, such as my trusty 2020 quad core i3 Mac Mini, or even my 2019 A12 Bionic iPad Mini, this is nothing. They barely feel hot to the touch. But on any one of Apple’s current notebooks, be it the new MacBook Air or the 16” MacBook Pro, this is a thermal nightmare. I’ve felt more than acceptable burns on my legs and downstairs furniture, and while those of us more familiar with the cooling process know that using a notebook computer on your lap traps heat and throws a wrench in performance, most folks just don’t care. 

And if you think that software could remedy this, why don’t you try out macOS 11 Big Sur on a 2014 MacBook Air? The six year old i5 runs hot, but it always did, even with its OEM-installed OS X Mavericks, often clocking in at over 90 or 100 degrees C with very few apps open. For the better part of a decade, Apple has tirelessly worked to adapt thermal designs to better fit customer desires, but Intel has held them back, and frankly, it’s held the entire industry back. 

The buck does not stop with thermal improvements, because Apple’s SoC design is fully loaded with a cornucopia of features that Intel could only dream of designing without burning the chip like your clueless boomer parents roasting marshmallows on an open fire. What makes Apple chips so special is that they, through miniaturization, cram the components of a logic board into a single 7 nm package that includes CPU and GPU cores, and integrated RAM. With miniaturization like this, Apple is able to do what is quite frankly currently unimaginable from a performance standpoint, and that shouldn’t be shocking from the company that invented the ultrabook design we all use today. 

Apple isn’t the first company to bring their desktop OS to ARM chips, with Microsoft delivering the Surface Pro X last year—but they will likely be the best at it, because their SoC is so tightly integrated with their software. 

For everyone else not immersed in Apple’s ecosystem, this transition will inevitably affect you too, as more and more OEMs are realizing the performance issues associated with Intel chips, and the rise in popularity in AMD CPUs. And even for Intel, this transition should help push them to develop more efficient chipsets that fit into consumer desires for achieving a balanced performance-per-watt.

So this begs the question, should I purchase an Intel Mac right now? I asked myself the same question, considering this transition has been rumored for years now, and had been relying on the iPad Air 3 and iPad Mini to do most of my work, sometimes having to fall back on my 2014 MacBook Air. Three months ago, when COVID hit, it was reasonable to purchase the much-needed Mac Mini to get my work done in a full-fledged desktop OS, but the game has changed since then, and it's clear we will have much more ideal performance in Apple's soon-to-be-refreshed product line. 

If your Mac is feeling long in the tooth (in particular 2014 or earlier MacBooks) I would bite the bullet and purchase your final Intel Mac, or consider one of Apple’s many iPads. However, if your Mac is from 2015 and you’re still able to comfortably get through your workflow, this strange moment of limbo is a good time to save up for an Apple Silicon Mac. Apple has said that they expect to support Intel Macs for years to come and still has Intel machines in the pipeline, but it’s hard to imagine these are intended for consumers. 

Alright, so should I purchase an Intel Mac right now? Unless you're desperate, I would wait. This next year should have a lot of interesting new devices powered by Apple Silicon, and if all goes well, ones that won't double as a hot plate. 

Tap Tap! The Apple Watch Review

7 A.M, I wake up to a gentle ringing and pick up my beautiful silver Apple Watch from the pseudo-charging cradle that lays beside my bed on a nightstand: it is time for another day with my latest toy and companion.

As I shower, watch on wrist, I shift through Bob Dylan and Joan Baez tracks while checking the weather and responding to late night texts I had missed. The watch, although quoted to be water resistant, is in actuality waterproof for short periods of time and ignorant to certain low water pressures.

On my drive to the office my watch vibrates with a reminder to call my friend David, who I easily ask Siri to call and I talk to from my watch. Is this real life? Sure is! The sound isn't tinny, it's not booming either, but just loud and clear enough to enjoy the conversation instead of dreading it.

Throughout the work day I receive dozens of light taps that don't annoy me the way my obnoxious Pebble did (vibrating so loud it would shake the table under my wrists). The Apple Watch notifies you with taps that almost feel human; light, gentle, graceful. Text from my parents. Text from my sister. Facebook like. Instagram like. Twitter mention. NYTimes update. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. This is what notifications should feel like. Most of the time I respond with Siri's brilliant built-in dictation, but I often just respond on my iPhone so as to look like less of a crazy person.

Dinner time, while the rest of my friends tap and swipe away at their smartphones, I sit and try to hold a conversation. I never noticed how truly distracted I am with my phone. It's scary, and it wasn't this way until a few years ago.

As I prepare for bed, after a long night of not-to-be-mentioned shenanigans, I plop my Apple Watch back onto the charger. No grace, due to the heavy buzz I'm feeling from the night. I remain connected through my MacBook Air, where, while enjoying Netflix, I continue to respond to friends until I pass out.

******

I have spent about a week with my Apple Watch. And just like life after MacBook, after iPhone, after Apple TV, after iPad, I cannot imagine life beforehand. What did I do without this wonderful assistant to my life? And more importantly, how is it that I only now see how our always-on lifestyle has crippled our social potential as humans?

Hardware

The Apple Watch retains the same form factor in three gorgeous collections: Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, and Apple Watch Edition. The sport, being the cheapest, lightest, and cleanest model (in my opinion) was the unit I chose for review and for keepsake. Specifically, I chose the 42 mm silver case with a white sport band. And, like most buyers, I'm readily awaiting my first extra black sport band.

It is worth noting that the Apple Watch, although coming in two case sizes, is probably best chosen in the 42 mm flavor. At the end of the day, the 38 mm model just isn't for most people. It's too small of a screen (despite being only 4 mm smaller!) and a case. But again, that is only my opinion and that of the bulk of buyers. When all's said and done, many people with smaller wrists (mainly women, according to the available data) will still flock to the smaller model.

And that is what is so wonderful about the Apple Watch: never before has Apple put out a device as personal as this. There are three cases, in two sizes per case, with two finishes per case collection. Apple Watch Sport comes in a silver case and a space grey (which is way way way too popular) casing, the Apple Watch comes in stainless steel and space black stainless steel, and the Apple Watch Edition comes in rose and yellow gold. There's really a lot to choose from.

And, it is very much worth noting that Apple Watch Sport is compatible with Apple Watch bands. So, when the summer comes to a close, I'm going to purchase a leather loop.

Apple Watch isn't thin like iPhone or MacBook or iPad- but it isn't supposed to be. It is meant to be large, defined, accessible, and noticeable. Yet, despite all of these wonderful qualities, it remains very light and very small compared to many watches I own. And personally, I think it is perfect.

Software

Apple Watch may be a beautiful device to gawk at and wear, but the true genius and beauty of it exists within the software on the display.

What makes the Apple Watch so cool, so easy to use, and so accessible is how seamlessly it unites with my iPhone to deliver notifications in a way that I can finally decide what is worth giving attention to, and what isn’t. The biggest problem I find myself having with my iPhone is that answering notifications is WAY more involved than just that. I surf the web. I check Facebook, my email, who I haven’t texted in a while. Sometimes I even play a game. All the while, I’m losing time with friends, family, coworkers, and the world around me. I am so connected to my phone, that I’m disconnected from everything around it, and I’m not sure I like that anymore.

The Watch also comes with a killer activity app. It tracks overall movement, how often I stand up (and tells me when it’s time to do so), and working out (excessive movement) throughout my day. Have I burned enough calories? Should I stand up and move around a bit? Did I reach my goal for the day? What is my heartrate? Apple Watch will let me know. For some reason, Apple Watch has been the encouragement I’ve needed to be more active, and for Apple, this is a huge selling point. There is not yet a competing device that does what Apple Watch can.

Communicating with friends is both fun and easier. Instead of being relegated to texting, voice calls, and FaceTime on iPhone, I’m able to now send picture messages, my heartbeat (which is both cool and creepy), and some crazy new emojis. I’ve felt a little strange using dictation, the most incredible feature on Apple Watch, to respond to texts. But overall, it makes my life just that much easier. Text comes in. Tap tap. Respond. Done. There’s little to it, and it keeps me away from my phone.

The last big thing I would like to touch upon on the software side is watchfaces. Apple seems to love marketing its products through the means of an overarching threesome of features. For Apple Watch, it was being a great timepiece, a new and useful communication device, and a killer activity tracker.

Here is what really bothers me; I love watches, I love how they look and how they function, and I think the face of the watch is a really special and distinctive feature of owning one. What I can’t understand, is why Apple has such a limited selection of digital and pseudo-analog faces on the watch, and yet will not allow third-party ones on its App Store.

While highly customizable, Apple Watch faces just don’t pop like I hoped they would. They’re actually too simple. But this is an easy fix, and when all’s said and done, this specific issue can be amended through software.

Conclusion

There's no doubt: Apple Watch keeps me grounded. It keeps me close, yet far from my iPhone. It keeps me dedicated to the world around me and the tasks at hand. It brings me back to reality in a way no other smartwatch ever has. It looks amazing while doing so. I love my Apple Watch, and while it might be too early for many people to buy one, it was the right time for me.

In the future, Apple should consider lowering the cost of the sport and watch models by $49. $349 is much more attractive and reasonable than $399, because ultimately most people won’t want to buy a 38 mm Apple Watch when the 42 mm is just right.

Should you buy an Apple Watch? Probably. Is it worth the investment? Definitely. Is there anything out there even close to it? Nope.

An In-Depth Look At OS X Yosemite Beta (10.10)

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT INSTALL THIS ON YOUR MAIN MACHINE UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH BETA SOFTWARE, OS X LIBRARIES, DARWIN, OR UNIX. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL OPERATING SYSTEM AND IS NOT MEANT FOR DAILY USE UNTIL FINAL RELEASE IN THE FALL. 

Mac OS X was released on March 24th, 2001 to Apple customers running PowerPC Macintosh computers in a world before 9/11 occurred, or a war on terror, or iPhones and iPods even existed. Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah was perhaps the most advanced Operating System to ever erupt from a company- way bigger, more intuitive, and much more beautiful than Microsoft's Windows XP, also released August that year. It was the first Apple OS to include protective memory, preemptive multitasking, a UNIX-based kernel, and the ubiquitous and delicious "Aqua" user interface. Here's a picture of what it looked like, compliments of Wikipedia.

As you can see, Mac OS X was beautiful back then. And it's beautiful today too. Here's a picture I just took from my MacBook Air, now running OS X 10.10 Yosemite Beta.

What a difference, looking at OS X (no longer Mac OS X) running on a modern laptop. Here's the difference between these images in terms of computer hardware:

• Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah required a 233 MHz PowerPC CPU
• Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah required 128 MB of RAM (256 recommended)
• OS X 10.10 Yosemite requires an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU or later
• OS X 10.10 Yosemite requires 2 GB of RAM

For the fun of it, I ran Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah on my old green iMac G3 with a 333 MHz PowerPC G3 CPU and 192 MB of RAM. Surprisingly, it ran quite well- no hiccups anywhere. So, being the jackass I am, I tried Mac OS X 10.1 (not to be confused with 10.10) Puma on the same Mac. Still no issues. But, when I installed Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar (again, I'm a jackass) on the machine, it crashed like nobody's business. It was slower than molasses, difficult to operate most apps without lag, and just an ugly mess for everyone involved.

As you can see, Mac OS X was growing up inside a world when computer specifications began to double, and with it, the OS capabilities were quadrupling. Running a modern operating system is not an easy task for a low level machine. 

Fourteen years later, OS X requires 2 GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor to run. Let me tell you, I tested OS X 10.10 Yosemite on a unit with these very specifications. Not to mention, there was no solid state drive, instead, there was a full-blown hard disk drive. It was a nightmare.

There simply is not enough RAM to run OS X Yosemite in the base specifications. It runs, but there are too many slow downs and too many issues to run it comfortably. 4 GB is actually just enough for even a power user, and gets the job done without any hiccups. 

I ran OS X Yosemite on two machines. The low end, and the latest. For the low end, a 2009 MacBook with a 2.2 GHz  Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB of DDR2 SDRAM clocked at 667 MHz, and a 180 GB HDD. And for the high end, a MacBook Air with a 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 (turbo boost to 2.7 GHz), 4 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, and a 128 GB Solid State Drive.

Let's first talk about the low end. OS X Yosemite likes RAM, needs RAM to operate comfortably. The Finder works just fine, with very little issues, as does Safari, and Mail in conjunction. However, if you run just about any other app alongside these three, you will have issues. Not to mention if the Dock is on magnification. Then it's just a mess and the whole thing falls apart and one app is bound to crash. I won't even go into any details, because the CPU had to work very hard, to the point of the machine heating up significantly enough to shut it down, that OS X Yosemite is not recommended for the low end, if you can help it.

To run OS X comfortably, you need a Core i5 at least, and 4 GB of RAM unless you want issues. This being said, the low end unit I tested it on was pretty old for any computer. You're supposed to upgrade every three or four years. That unit, from 2009, is five years old. I forgive Apple for allowing OS X Yosemite to run so terribly on an old machine- they don't want you to run it on there anyway.

Now let's break away and discuss running OS X Yosemite on a high end Macintosh.

It f***ing rocks.

Yeah, it's that nice. With the MacBook Air, I never find myself needing or wanting more power, and OS X runs really well. I'm going to talk about ten new features that I have enjoyed in OS X Yosemite, and leave everything else for my final review in the fall.

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1) New Look

OS X Yosemite features a brand new iOS 7-inspired look and feel. The menu bar is much flatter and cleaner- obviously inspired by the information bar in iOS 7. Apple has switched to a new font- from Lucida Grande (first featured in Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah) to Helvetica Neue. This is the same system font found in iOS 7, and really streamlines the appearance of both operating systems. Despite being an OS X user since the very beginning, I feel more at home on the Mac now that it more closely resembles my iPhone 5S. 

Along with the new font, Apple carried flatter- almost cartoonish- icon design from iOS to OS X. Let me tell you, it looks gorgeous. There is really something to be said about this new design from Apple, and it's nice to see them ditch the "material design" (take that, Google!) found in previous versions of OS X. Thank god Scott Forestall is out and Craig Federighi is back in. 

The other welcome addition is the new title bars for windows and apps. They're smoother and much more comfortable than the one found in previous versions of OS X. Also for the first time, when you click the green button on a title bar, the window you're in actually becomes full screen- something we have all been waiting a long time for. Over all, the new flatter design is a welcome addition, and something I hope other app developers bring to their icon design and apps as well.

2) New Safari

If you've been an OS X / iOS user for the past few years, you know just how incredible Safari has become. Say what you will about Chrome's ability to sync across devices, Safari is a much faster, more reliable, and battery-saving browser. Since iOS 7, I just don't see a need for Google Chrome anymore. I hope I'm not alone. 

The new Safari looks a lot like its brother on iOS, and is just as sleek and fast. The new title bar is streamlined to include a much smaller address bar than found in OS X Mavericks, which is much cleaner and more familiar for me, considering my iPhone 5S is my real workhorse throughout the day. The buttons are also cleaner and smaller, and overall Safari feels much more in tune with iOS. 

My personal favorite new feature of Safari is the new placement of favorites, which now appear in the address bar if you click on it. It's a much cleaner way to browse, and focuses more on web content... as it should. 

Along with the new look comes much faster performance and more security features- including the option to make private browsing windows instead of forcing the whole browser to be private at one time. It's a much better way to browse. 

3) New Messages

While I intend on talking about the new look of messages, I will not include screenshots, as I am too lazy and I'm not about to reveal my private conversations to anyone. But let me tell you- if you like Messages on iOS, you'll love it on OS X Yosemite. It's just as fast, with the same clean interface found in iOS 7, and its definitely a welcome upgrade, albeit not as different as it could have been. 

With iOS 8 working with OS X Yosemite, users will finally be able to receive text messages on their Mac- so even those inferior green bubble friends have a place in Messages. 

Another new feature that is also coming to iOS 8 is called Soundbite, which lets you record an audio clip to send like a message. This is similar to the feature in WhatsApp. 

Probably the coolest new feature deals with group messages. No longer do you have to deal with the same annoying messages being sent- you can now opt out of conversations or remove others from them. Finally a way to chat that is more exclusive.

4) New Spotlight

Depending on how productive you are with your Mac, you most likely use spotlight. If you've also been the same with your iOS device, the experience is not much different. Much like the spotlight before it, and the old Sherlock (remember, Sherlock?) you can search your Mac, iCloud, and the Web for any information you may be seeking. You can search for locations in Maps as well- something that is actually quite helpful and a lot easier to access than Google Maps or MapQuest. Here's an example of what it's like to look up a restaurant:

5) iCloud Drive

If you're a Chromebook user, you know that having your computer integrated with the cloud is a super ideal way to work. iCloud Drive is the same- everything you do on your iOS 8-powered device is synced and ready to go. And since upgrading cloud storage is so cheap on Apple's end ($20/year for 10 GB which is all you need), iCloud Drive is a great service and finally an easy way to access folders and documents shared between OS X and iOS.

6) Handoff

It's a common problem actually: you start an email on your desktop/notebook and you have to go- so you pick it up on your phone. But in the past, doing this hasn't been so simple. Now, because of Bluetooth technologies integrated into OS X, users can handoff tasks between their computer and their smartphone and tablet or vice versa. It's a really productive way to work and perhaps the most important component of Apple's new Continuity focus on iOS and OS X.

7) Instant Hotspot

I hate when there's no WiFi in the area and I'm on my laptop. So usually to compensate, I connect my machine to my iPhone's hotspot. Except, this isn't as instant as it could be. With OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, it finally is. Just having one device in range while the other isn't connected will automatically connect them both. It's a very useful function and a much needed addition for users of iOS and OS X.

8) New Mail

So, you're trying to show somebody something through Email: maybe it's a picture of you with a black eye you're trying to point out. A new feature called "Markup" allows you to draw over photos to do just that- and it's really easy to do. Other than that, Mail also accepts and allows you to send larger files than ever before. Thanks to MailDrop, you can drop files up to 5 GB in iCloud and then drop them into an email. No more issues sending big collections of pictures or movies to friends.

9) New iTunes

The twelfth incarnation of iTunes is a big one. Finally, users are able to browse music in a truly streamlined way. Also, signing in and out of user accounts is much easier to do- something that was quite difficult in iTunes 11. Accessing your content is much easier to do with the smaller, more intuitive icons found in the upper left hand corner of the app. Unfortunately, accessing the miniPlayer isn't so obvious, and has to be done through the Window menu. Also, where as the player used to be integrated with the window, it is now a separate entity. 

10) Notification Center

I feel that with making this the final feature in this review, I'm doing justice to one of OS X's most powerful features. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated Notification Center in OS X Lion, but nothing ever came close to the speed and versatility of the software in iOS. Finally, this isn't true. Both versions are on par with each other, and receiving notifications, as well as navigating through your day, is amazingly easy and attractive. I really like being able to see the weather, my schedule for the day, stock prices, and my schedule for the next day. Not to mention that notifications on iOS and OS X compliment each other: if one is read on one device, it disappears on the other. It's a much better way to deal with notifications.

Conclusion

OS X has seen many changes in the past 13 years, and 15 years since development began. There is no operating system more robust, intuitive, or attractive as Apple's OS X. I really don't see myself using another pair of OS, desktop and mobile, than Apple's current offering. The integration is incredible, and the devices they run on are state of the art in every way possible. Call me a fanboy, but Apple's future is really set with OS X Yosemite, and whatever is in the pipeline for the next few years.

My Take on Wearable Computing

A little watch history: In 1983, Casio developed the G-Shock in an attempt to ruggedize the wristwatch for rougher environments.

Today, G-Shocks run anywhere from $60-$1700, and have a variety of high-tech features. The latest G-Shock features a low-powered bluetooth chip allowing two-way communication with an iPhone and a select number of Android phones, allowing users to receive calls and play music.

The G-Shock is transforming from a watch into a wearable computer. And Casio is not the only company exploring this middle ground.

Pebble and Samsung have released true multi-purpose wristwatches, more affectionately named smartwatches. Apple is rumored to be releasing their own unit within the year. Google is on a fast-track to releasing its own wearable computer: Glass, which rests on the head instead of the wrist. Many more companies are rumored to be working on devices users can wear to connect to a smartphone.

In fact, the smartwatch could be thought of as the next generation of smartphone, but smaller and worn on the wrist. Users can get messages, notifications from social networking apps, emails, pictures, or play videos and music from a music library.

Unlike a smartphone, however, smartwatches can’t do everything. Games on smartwatches don’t work quite as well yet, and most third-party apps (except for on the Pebble) aren’t commercially viable yet.

However, there is something very promising about the concept of the wearable device. Seamless notification delivery allows users to always stay connected to their device and control apps within their phone.

I took a few weeks to sit down and experience the Pebble, which is the most popular smartwatch on the market, stealing sales from Samsung’s product, the Galaxy Gear, which was a complete commercial flop. I had some personal time with both devices, and I spoke with other users of each product.

I found the Pebble to be the easier device to use. Most of the functions of a wearable computer are meant to be accomplished in a small amount of time, sometimes even instantly. The Pebble delivers in this case, where the Galaxy Gear was a nightmare. Menus in the Pebble are simple to navigate, allowing users to get stuff done in seconds. The Gear, on the other hand, was like navigating a maze of maize: it was almost impossible to get through tasks without something confusing popping up in one menu or another.

One of the deal breakers for many people when it comes to wearable devices is visual appeal. The classic Pebble falls short in this respect. It’s nothing more than a hunk of plastic on your wrist, and leaves something to be desired. However, there is another solution: the recently-released Pebble Steel, which incorporates metallic accents and a steel enclosure instead of the classic plastic design.

While smartwatches like the Pebble have become an affordable reality, products like Google Glass are gaining national attention as alternative communication devices. Google Glass is unique in that it sits on your face the same way one would wear glasses, acting as a heads-up display.

This method of computing has, in the past two years, gained huge interest in the consumer electronics industry. Since Google’s reveal of the project over a year ago, hundreds of eager developers and regular folk have opted into Google’s Explorer program, paying $1500 to obtain a Glass unit.

I find the Pebble to be extremely useful and at least for my needs, it delivers. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something more seamless, keep your eyes peeled for Google’s Glass coming this year. And, finally, if you’re just into a watch with a little extra tech, check out one of Casio’s G-Shocks. Who knows? Maybe you’ll like the Galaxy Gear. I just know I didn’t