the tindog coffeehouse

Website Hunch.com recently published a large and detailed infographic comparing Mac and PC users, based on questions answered by visitors to the site. The non-scientific study, which was republished on a few other tech blogs, basically confirms every stereotype about Mac and PC users: that Mac users are young, liberal, artsy-fartsy types, while PC users are old, conservative, spreadsheet fanatics.

I don’t know how much of that is actually true. Instinctively, I suppose it’s fairly accurate just based on the kind of image Apple has spent decades cultivating. Apple has always wanted us to see it as the anti-Microsoft, even going back to their infamous “1984″ commercial. But one area of the infographic that I think is entirely wrong is the Technology category, and more specifically this stat:

Mac people are 21% more likely than PC people to consider themselves computer-savvy gearheads.

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Gizmodo has a post out about what Microsoft’s successor to Windows 7 will look like. Pretty much anyone you talk to will mention the same things: more cloud integration, better hardware management, better security, faster boot time, expanded use of virtualization, etc. All good answers, and I think accurate ones.

But my gut tells me that if you really want to know what Windows 8 will look like, just look at an iPad. Forget Windows XP, Vista, or even Windows 7. Windows 8 will more closely resemble Apple’s iOS or Google’s Chrome OS than any of its predecessors.

Why? Several reasons:

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Let the AT&T backlash begin, er, continue.

The much-maligned phone company and sole provider of iPhone voice and data service (when you can get it), has decided to put the kibosh on its $30/month unlimited data plan. From now on, new users must choose between a $15/month plan that allows for 200 MB of data usage, or a $25/month plan that allows for 2 GB (with fees for going over, of course).

And if that wasn’t evil enough, they also agreed to let you pay them an extra $20/month for tethering service so that you’ll hit your data usage caps even faster.

Of course, you can always save your iPhone internetting for wi-fi hotspots, which would presumably not count against your quota while simultaneously making you less mobile and possibly much more open to security threats. Or you can fork over $150 for a MicroCell doohickey, which would let you funnel your 3G browsing through your home Internet connection (although again, it’s not clear whether that would count toward the quota or not). (Plus, once your ISP begins implementing broadband usage caps, that may not be an attractive option, either.)

Confused yet?

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I’ve had my iPhone for about 10 months, and almost since Day 1 I’ve used a Mophie Juice Pack Air to provide both protection for it as well as extra battery life. For the most part, I’ve been pretty happy with it, even though it was expensive and even though it added a lot of extra bulk to the phone.

While some people had complained that the Juice Packs negatively impact cellular reception, I had never really thought about until yesterday. We were waiting for church to start and I wanted to check something online really quick, but I couldn’t get a signal. Just one row in front of me, however, another guy was happily browsing on his iPhone with a full 3G connection. The only difference? He only had a standard plastic case on his phone.

Curious, I ran some network speed tests later from my kitchen, home office, and bedroom — three places where I’ve gotten historically bad reception. In two of those tests (the office and bedroom), I couldn’t get a 3G signal at all and could just barely get an Edge connection. I then took the Juice Pack off and ran the same tests. The kitchen test was a little slower, but the others were much faster. Needless to say, I was shocked at how big of a difference removing the Juice Pack made.

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An Apple employee supposedly loses a prototype of the upcoming 4th-generation iPhone after a night of heavy drinking to celebrate his birthday. A stranger then sells it to tech blog Gizmodo for $5000. Gizmodo makes millions from all the publicity. And now police have gotten involved, breaking in to Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s house and confiscating several computers and other property that may have been “used as the means of convicting a felony”.

Not to defend Gizmodo’s actions, but I just have to state the obvious:

It was only an iPhone.

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Over the weekend it was announced that Twitter has bought Atebits, the company that makes the Twitter iPhone client Tweetie. Apparently, they’re going to rename the app “Twitter for iPhone” and offer it for free. (It currently costs $2.99.)

It’s likely a good move for Twitter since it gives them an official iPhone client, but it may not be the best for users. Here’s how I see it playing out:

1. Twitter renames Tweetie to “Twitter for iPhone” and makes it free.
2. They then make the app ad-supported, probably using Apple’s new iAd platform. This gives Twitter a greater potential for revenue than what they would otherwise get by charging a one-time fee of $2.99.
3. Users balk at the new ad-supported version and give it up for lesser quality but ad-free alternatives.

Come to think of it, that’s probably a pattern we’ll see repeated over and over as advertising makes its way into a greater number of mobile apps and services.